Heaven on Earth
by LaLaCat1
Summary: With the death of Homura and Crowned Prince Nataku still comatose to the world there is a need for a new War God in Heaven. Kyomitsu is charged with “convincing” Goku to take the position, but politics and ambition may get in the way of duty.
1. Chapter 1

This is my fist real shot at fan fiction. I've written some before but never posted it anywhere, so pleas tell me what you think. It would be very helpful. This story takes place some time between Homura's hole deal and the "Even A Worm" story line. There are some spoilers (like about Nataku, who the boys were in their past life and want happens with Homura, but it's all sort of vague.) You can read it still if you don't know what went on then, it just wont be as clear. Oh, and the reference to the monkeys was taken from the original "Journey to the West" story.

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There was an unpleasant weight in the room as he surveyed the faces around him through dark eyes. As was the custom with all important meanings nowadays, the entire heavens have been called to attendance, military personnel and courtier alike. He didn't like it; bureaucrats knew nothing about reality. All they knew was what was best for _them_, what would keep _them _the most comfortable. Experience had proven that their way was not always the best way.

Kyomitsu cleared his throat and began again. "We all know something must be done. As thing stand, we are defenseless. Now that Homura is dead, there is no one left to act as the hand of Heaven and keep order in the Lower World."

All thanks to ridiculously outdated precedents. It was all well and good to say that a god couldn't kill when the most threatening thing they had to concern themselves with was a group of rowdy monkeys. Now there was so much chaos in the Lower World it was a wonder it still stood intact. Though, he mused privately, Homura had come very close to rectifying that.

"We could do nothing as one of our own nearly ripped our realm from the cosmos! This cannot be ignored. With the honorable Prince Nataku showing no signs whatsoever of recovering from his wounds, I'm forced to say that we must start our search for a new War God."

This was not a shocking concept to the group gathered together. All of them, right down to the last woman hiding behind her painted face and fan, knew where this was leading. They all knew who he was going to suggest. But appearances had to be kept, the Jade Emperor himself was present, none of them felt they could afford to look as if they had come to this conclusion themselves. Better to let the other man stab himself in the foot then get involved if they could help it.

"Because of this I have no choice but to suggest the only logical candidate for the position," Kyomitsu continued. The customary silence greeted the slight pause. "The Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Son Goku is the only possible replacement for Nataku and Homura."

Immediately a chorus of shocked gasps swept through the room, right on cue. Shock was what was expected of them, even if they didn't really feel it. The consept had been whispered threw the halls of Heaven for years. A loud buzz began to fill the chamber, protests and pseudo-concern shot at random.

"Are you mad?" one man shouted.

"Have you lost your mind?" another demanded.

"We let this man lead our army?" a woman shrieked.

"Perhaps you could explain yourself further, General Kyomitsu," Lee Taing said sharply. He was the emperor's most trusted adviser, he spoke when the Jade Emperor did not feel the need to or when matters were too trivial for search a being to be concerned with. He was regal and held considerable sway over almost everyone in Heaven. He was also the biggest prick Kyomitsu had ever met.

"Son Goku was considered for this position before--" he began but was cut off sharply.

"And did you forget what happened the last time that animal was allowed within the halls of Heaven?" A deep voice shouted. Kyomitsu tried to pinpoint the source of the question, but the many bodies of the courtiers blended together until they became one. When packed together as they were the courtiers were little more then talking heads.

Kyomitsu found the image somehow fitting.

"No," he replied. "I did not forget."

"Well neither have we! Some of us lost loved ones because of him!" one woman half shouted, half sobbed. She had been married to a former general that died during the fight with the Grate Sage. The man had been a growing favorite of Lee Taing, and so had a very bright future ahead of him and his new wife. With that man's death the woman's future had been slightly less grand.

"Last time we were unprepared for what could happen, we didn't understand fully what we were dealing with. This time we do."

"Oh good! Now we know the beast is dangerous before he bites!"

Kyomitsu tried hard to control his temper. This was one of the most important meetings of his life, he had to keep his cool. Unfortunately, the whispers and snide comments that reached his ears were making it hard.

"What is your opinion Konzeon Bosatsu?" a soft voice called out in little more than a whisper.

Immediate silence fell upon the room. It was very, very unexpected to hear the Jade Emperor himself direct a question at any one of his subjects. Lee Taing was trying, and failing, not to look as if someone had ripped the rug out from under him. He liked to think he knew exactly what the emperor would do in any situation. Obviously he had not expected this.

All eyes were now turned towards one of the high seated chairs in the room. Sitting in the chair was a very important woman. One of the few bureaucrats that didn't make Kyomitsu sick on principle, Konzeon Bosatsu instead made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. The Merciful Goddess always struck him as one who could turn the heavens upside down if she so chose to, and he didn't particularly like the thought.

She pursed her thin, painted lips together and fainned a look of deep contemplation. Her eyes had too devious a spark in them when they fell on Kyomitsu to truly be considering the question. She looked more like some sort of large cat, sizing up her next plaything.

"You wish to make The Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Son Goku, the new War God?" she asked calmly, for clarification.

"Yes," Kyomitsu said, bowing in a show of respect

She squinted one eye before closing both, leaning back in her chair and shrugging calmly. "I agree with his theory."

Another hurricane of whispers swept through the crowd. It was all Kyomitsu could do to stop his eyes from narrowing. She agreed with his _theory, _but not his plan of action. He could tell just much from the careful way she had worded her comment. He had the distinct impression she had given her response that way on purpose. He also has the feeling no one else noticed.

"And do you have a plan to keep another incident like the last one that creature caused from happening again?" the Emperor inquired.

Kyomitsu nodded before turning and offering another respectful bow to the man. This bow was deeper than the one given to Konzeon Bosatsu. "I believe I have a way to keep the child to control."

"Child?" Lee Taing demanded sourly. "That creature is well beyond the years of a child," he spit.

Kyomitsu shook his head, but before he could speak the Emperor began again. "Lee is correct, General. The Son Goku you speak of is over 500 years old."

"With all due respect, your eminence, he is no older than a child physically or mentally. Those 500 years he spent in confinement were in a state of stagnation. He did not grow mentally passed the moment he was imprisoned."

And he was almost certain Konzeon Bosatsu had arranged things like that on purpose.

"And how do you propose to control him?"

Here Kyomitsu almost hesitated. He wanted to watch Konzeon when he gave his answer, but there was no way he could do so without seeming rood to the Emperor. Nevertheless, he was anxious to see how she would react to his plan.

"Through Konzen. He has shown, both here in Heaven and in the Lower World, that he has the power to stop the Great Sage when he goes on rampages. I believe that with Konzen's aid we can effectively used Son Goku."

"Konzeon, your thoughts?" the emperor commanded.

Konzeon nodded. "Again, his theory is sound."

A long pause followed this comment. The Jade Emperor sat in deep thought before he looked at Kyomitsu.

"So be it. General, I give you permission to gather what troops and weapons you need. Good luck, and don't disappoint us."

And just like that the meeting was over, he'd been dismissed. People began moving forward, rather than towards the door at the back of the room, all intent on getting some sort of attention from the Emperor. All except Konzeon Bosatsu and her attendant. They moved through the crowd like fish through water and exited the room. With slightly less grace Kyomitsu followed.

"Merciful Goddess," he called, drawing her attention back to him once they were in the deserted halls.

She stopped to glance at him. Her statue was lean and shapely, the clothing covering her body doing nothing to hide anything as the cloth was so thin. Hoops of gold adorned her ears and a gold chain encircled her neck. Physically she greatly resembled her nephew, Konzen. Both had delicately sculpted faces and eyes that slanted downwards in an oddly appealing droop. Her eyes had a tendency to hold both boredom and mischief in their depths at the same time.

This woman associated with few and confided only in her attendant, a man she seemed to enjoy tormenting despite her name. Kyomitsu couldn't help but believe she'd been miss titled. The Manipulative Goddess seemed to suit her better.

"Thank you for your words of confidence, without them I'm sure the emperor would never have considered my proposal," he said humbly, bowing once again. This woman had the ability to send him right back to the powerless recruit, forced to watch as the most important events in Heaven unfolded around him, if she wanted to. His instincts said she was not to be trusted, and he'd learnt to trust his instincts.

"Oh, I'm sure he would consider it," she said simply. He didn't miss how she had once again danced around giving a real response. The Emperor would have considered it without her but he never would have agreed to it.

"My Lady, you know you nephew, Konzen, or Genjo Sanzo as he is called now, better than anyone. Will he cooperate?" he asked carefully.

Her lips curved upward in a smile he didn't particularly like as her eyes reduced to mischievous little slits. Her attendant gave her a worried, warning look, which she ignored.

"I can't say anymore then you can, General."

"If we should have to use force..."

"By all means, use it," she said calmly as she began to walk away. He watched her hips sway as she seemed to slither, rather than float as a goddess normally should, down the hall. Kyomitsu was positive she was smirking.

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Alright, I went back threw here and tried to fix the mistakes up as best I could. At least Goku isn't "Sun" Goku any more… 


	2. Chapter 2

Sence some one was nice enough to say that I had to update for them I thought I'd try to get this out quickly. I don't think other chapters are going to come as fast...but who knows? To any one that reviewed the first one, THANK YOU! Thanks for the increment Jurie-chan and Windflame, and SaiYury especially because you were my first review ever, and it was such a nice one too. This chapter is dedicated to you! Hope you like it.

Again, sorry if there are errors, it's just me looking over this stuff.

I still don't own Saiyuki, which is sad, but what can you do?

Sanzo was annoyed. He was normally annoyed, so was nothing new or shocking, but worth mentioning non the less. The amount of sidetracks he had been drawn on was enough to make him scream. Or, it would be if he was anyone but a Sanzo priest. He was above screaming in frustration.

Instead he beat Goku and Gojo with "the fan".

The idiotic event of the day was an attack by what was probably the most pathetic group of demons yet. They fumbled and twitched and had generally no idea what they're doing. In the end Goku a taken them all out of commission. He didn't kill any of them, they were too pathetic to even warrant the effort. Hakuryu had even ended up fighting, and _winning_, against one for pete's sake. The only actual damage the idiots have managed to do was ruin their food. Before Hakuryu have been able to transform a rouge blast had knocked the container they kept their supplies in out of the jeep and onto the ground, where it had preceded to get trampled on.

Asinine is the whole incident was, Sanzo still had no intention of stopping to restock for at least two days. He had his cigarettes, and that was all he needed. The closest town was half a day's ride in the opposite direction. They were going _wes_t, damn it! Not east! But the damn monkey couldn't handle it. It was impossible for him to even blink without getting hungry. In the end he'd begged and pleaded and complaint until Sanzo have lost little temper he had and brought out "the fan".

Hakkai had agreed to make a quick run back to the town and restock their supplies, Goku of course, going with him. To Sanzo's great displeasure Gojyo had opted to stay behind at the pleasant little stream the attack had occurred beside. Which meant he had stayed with Sanzo.

For the past hour and a half Sanzo have been doing everything he could to ignore Gojyo entirely. So far it had taken half a pack of his Marlboro Reds.

"Will you stop making faces! What are you, four?" he snapped, catching Gojyo in the midst of flaring his nostrils, rolling his eyes and sticking out his tongue.

Gojyo smiled and shifted to rest his chin in his palm, his elbow propped against his knee. "Is the mighty lord Sanzo getting annoyed?" he asked.

Sanzo's lips curved down into a deep frown, his eyes squinting to further illustrate his displeasure.

"You are excessively (1) annoying, kapa," he said in a deadpan voice.

Gojyo rolled his eyes. "I thought we'd move past that adverb."

"I can't move past it until you move past your stupidity," he replied calmly.

An unpleasant smile twisted Gojyo's lips. It looked like hw was trying very hard not to say something. Sanzo was in the process of formulating another acceptable insult to throw at him when quite suddenly there was a man standing behind Gojyo.

Sanzo was on his feet instantly, Gojyo following on instinct. Both regarded the man closely. It took quite a bit of skill to sneak up on Sanzo, even more for Gojyo do to his demonic senses. This man have caught them both by complete surprise. Even the animals in the vicinity had not given warning to his coming. That, more than anything else, set Sanzo on edge.

Only Homura had been able to surprise the animals.

This man was dressed mostly in black. Boots that covers his shins adorned his feet, and a long coat draped over a militant looking uniform. There were patches and medals of some sort on the right half of his coat that confirmed he was somehow connected to a military. A functional cut kept what looked like wavy hair out of impossibly turquoise eyes. The chakra on his forehand distinguished him right away as a god.

Sanzo disliked him already.

The man's eyes moved over them both before coming to fix on Sanzo's. He bowed at the waist in a very respectful manner, the way other priest did whenever they learnt to Sanzo's title.

"Genjyo Sanzo, formally Konzen Douji of Imperial Heaven, it is a great honor to meet you," the man said in a formal, artificial way, as if he was accustomed to the tone of voice, but did not truly mean the apparent respect it conveyed.

Sanzo's eyes narrowed at the reference to Konzen Douji. Only Homura had ever mention that name. This man was a god of some sort.

Which meant bullets wouldn't work on him.

"Cut the formal crap. What do you want?" Sanzo demanded bluntly.

The man looked up, something reminiscent of amusement or possible approval in those startling eyes. "My name is Kyomitsu. I am the General of the Heavenly Army."

"Heavenly Army? That's an oxymoron if there ever was one," Gojyo scoffed.

Kyomitsu turned to make eye contact with the kapa. A flash of recognition ran through his face before he bowed again. "Sha Gojyo, formally General Kenren of the Heavenly Army, it is an honor to meet you as well."

A look of sour incredulity passed between Sanzo and Gojyo before Kyomitsu began speaking again.

"I have come to speak with you, Genjyo Sanzo about a matter of great importance. The Heavenly Army finds itself lacking in ways that only you can help with. We are more than willing to reinstate you in your former position within Imperial Heaven as compensation for your troubles--"

"Reinstate?" Gojyo demanded skeptically. He was looking at Kyomitsu as if he had suddenly grown an extra head.

"And what could I possibly help you with? I don't recite prayers for jackasses," the priests snapped coolly.

This time Kyomitsu did give the smallest of grins. "That's good to know. Fortunately, we are well taken care of by way of prayer. What we are lacking is a proper War God."

His words had an instantaneous effect. Gojyo shifted into a solid stance, one he could easily fight in, and glaired suspiciously at Kyomitsu. Memory of Homura still clung tightly to him. Sanzo, for his part, took a long drag of his cigarette before blowing a string of smoke out in the general's direction.

He really didn't like this guy.

"Sorry. Not interested."

"The position was never intended to be filled by you. We are well aware of the fact you would have no interest in becoming a War God," the general began.

"Then why bother us?" Gojyo demanded. There was an edge of hostility in his voice already,as if he was itching for a reason to attack the god.

"Only you," hear Kyomitsu inclined his head toward Sanzo, "can control the Great Sage."

A long moment of silence greeted the statement. Sanzo took one last drag of his cigarette as he allowed the comment to sink in. Only he could control the "Great Sage"? Well, that was news.

"Sorry, wrong guy," he said dismissively.

He didn't like the situation one bit. If Kyomitsu was a General, where were his men? Why was he taking time to be polite when he could just as easily take what he wanted by force?

"Yeah, we don't have any sage here," snickered Gojyo, obviously amused at what he thought was a miss-wording.

Kyomitsu didn't look in the least bit fazed. "But you do. The Great Sage, Equal to Heaven, Son Goku. He is the one we want to install as the new War God of Heaven."

Something remarkably similar to dread curled in the pit of Sanzo's stomach. Not again. They had already dealt with one god stocking Goku, and that had nearly gotten them all killed. He did not have time to fight an entire army bent on whisking the monkey way to Heaven. The divine obsession with his charge was going to end here, with Kyomitsu.

For once, he and Gojyo seem to be imperfect agreement. The kapa's weapon appeared in his waiting hand to be brandished threateningly at Kyomitsu. There was no amusement in those blood-red eyes.

"Stay the hell away from Goku. He's not getting involved with anymore of you crazyass gods, least of all is your killer puppet," the kapa growled angrily. It never failed, Sanzo realized with mild interest. They could disagree about everything else under the sun, but when it came down to it, both had similar policies regarding Goku.

Keeping him the hell away from gods was one of those policies.

Kyomitsu took a step forward, looking ready to speak. He never got the chance. A loud bang shattered the relative silence. Spinning like some perverse top between the gods eyes with a single bullet.

Sanzo lowered his gun slowly, never looking away from Kyomitsu's impassive face.

"You have your answer. 'Not interested'. The next time you show up I'll kill you. We are going west, not to Heaven, so fuck off," he said very calmly.

Kyomitsu watched as the bullet fell to the ground. He gave another deferential bow before straightening back up.

"I'll give you time to think it over," he said just as calmly before simply vanishing.

"Fucking gods," Gojyo spat. "They keep screwing with the monkey! I bet he wasn't even a general! Lying bustard. I mean, if he was, where were his men?"

The realization hit like an iron weight into Sanzo's chest all at once.

"They're with Goku."

(1) in the book where Goku and Hakkai get there souls sucked out Sanzo and Gojyo fight over this word. I thought it was funny, so I wrote it in hear too.

It was surprisingly hard to write Sanzo and Gojyo...I hop e they were in character, if not, sorry, but I tried...

What will happen to Goku and Hakkai back at the town? Better question, what will happen to the town with two demons and a bunch of gods running around in it?


	3. Chapter 3

So, here's chapter three. If you squint you'll see the first hint of romance in this chapter. (It's thair, I'm just trying to make it subtle like Kazuya Minekura dose in the books. We all know it's there, but she never comes right out and says "LOOK! THEY"RE A CUPLE!"...so I probable won't either, but I'm a strong believer that there is romance going on in Saiyuki, so there will be some in hear too)

Cense I don't think I've don a disclaimer yet hear it is: I own nothing at all, which is sort of sad.

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The crowded market place sent his senses into a pleasant, tangling stupor. There were so many smells and sounds and people that if Goku hadn't already been exposed to such a mass of activity he might have felt out of place. As it was, Chang-an had more than prepared him for a town of this size. He chomped happily down on a meat bun, his snack of choice. Hakkai had been insightful enough to buy him one the minute they had gotten into the marketplace. The shopping passed much more pleasantly that way; with Goku's stomach filled with pleasant treats and his free arm filled with groceries. 

"You think Sanzo'll like the present I got him?" he asked suddenly, uncertainty springing up in his mind as he swallowed the last of his treat.

Hakkai smiled down at him reassuringly. He was always doing that, being reassuring and nice. That was why Goku like shopping with him best.

"I'm sure he'll love it," the man applied.

One of the first stands they had passed was owned by an art vendor. Paintings, figurines, colorfully decorated scrolls hung from the rickety ceiling or sat on proud display on tables enclosing the makeshift store. Goku's eyes had immediately been captured by a small scroll hanging from the ceiling. It depicted a stylized version of the sun and moon, both hanging in the air at once. The colored ink used to paint the background flowed seamlessly from day to night and the twin orbs seemed almost pulsing with life.

He'd been reminded of Sanzo so thoroughly that there is no way he could walk off without the peace. After a surprisingly short pleading session with Hakkai Goku found himself the proud owner of the little painting. It was the first real gift he'd ever gotten for anyone and it made his cheeks warm with the prospect of giving it to Sanzo.

The fact that it had been purchased with the monks Gold Card never once dampen the boy's excitement.

"All we have left to do is stop the pet shop before we go. Hakuryu has been looking rather scruffy lately, a good cleaning to do him wonders," Hakkai said cheerfully.

Goku nodded. Out of the corner of his eye he saw something dark street past too quickly for a normal human. His head whipped around to inspect where the blur have been, but there was nothing out of the ordinary in sight.

Hakuryu gave a small chirp and lifted his head from Hakkai's shoulder, where it had been resting.

"Hakkai," Goku began, his eyes still roaming the streets and his hand tightening around his bundle of groceries. "Do you get the feeling you're bein' watched?"

There was the briefest moment of silence before Hakkai answered. "Why, yes, Goku. I do."

Bright gold eyes shifted to take in the road ahead of them. Standing in the center of the crowded street, cutting a wide wound the flow of shoppers, stood five men. They were dressed from head to foot in black, each wearing identical long coats and uniforms underneath. All of them were staring past Hakkai and the people milling around them as if they did not exist.

They were looking at Goku.

One of the men gave a brief smile and then he was moving forward at breakneck speed. It was sheer luck that no towns person got in his path, if they had the man wouldn't have stopped anyway. There was no time to try to dodge the blow, no time to try to block it. All Goku could do was watch as a fist came crashing into his jaw. He was thrown backwards into a stand of pots and pans with enough force to bring them toppling down on him.

"Goku!" Hakkai's voice roused him out of the momentary daze the blow had inflicted.

He pushed himself up, the discarded bag of caned groceries spilling out onto the dusty ground. The picture for Sanzo, rolled up into a neat little scroll, was currently being smashed under a particularly sizable can.

That, more than anything else, pissed Goku off.

"What the hell was that for!" he shouted angrily, his golden eyes narrowing at his they fell upon the man who had hit him.

The man was standing between Goku and Hakkai, cut off from his partners. Shoppers were beginning to stare. The other four men in black had begun to fan out slowly, forming a wide half circle that enclose Hakkai and Goku.

"Son Goku, where is Genjyo Sanzo?" his attacker asked. There was no hint of arrogance or banter in the man's tone, only cold efficiency.

A flash of bright light slammed into the man from behind, sending him sliding across the ground on his face.

"Goku, move it!" Hakkai shouted. He waited for the boy to leap to his feet, scoop up the painting and follow him down the street and out of the market.

"We need to get away from these people! If we don't, they're going to get mixed up in all of this," he informed Goku.

Hakuryu gave a small coo, before flying ahead of the two. Before their eyes the little dragon transformed into a large green Jeep. Goku leapt into the back while Hakkai launched himself into the drivers seat. Hakuryu hardly wait for a command before his wheels were spinning, kicking up pebbles and dirt behind him.

People screamed and rushed the side of the road, leaving a clear path out of the town. One brief look behind confirm that the five men were following, the people still staying well out of the way for them to pass. Goku narrowed his eyes as he watched them come ever closer.

"Who are they? Do you think Kougaiji sent them?" he asked, turning to look at the back of Hakkai's head.

"It certainly seems like he did. I can't think of anyone else that would be looking for Sanzo," the man replied calmly. Hakkai was always calm, and when he wasn't something terrible was soon to happen.

Goku clutched the painting a little more tightly. He was suddenly very glad that Sanzo had stayed behind with Gojyo. He wanted to keep these men as far away from the blonde as possible anyone who could sneak up on Hakkai, Hakuryu _and _Goku was dangerous. The only other person who have been able to was Hamura.

Hakkai didn't stop the Jeep until they are practically back at the stream where they had left the others earlier that morning, and even then he only stopped because the men were nowhere in sight. He frowned ever so slightly as he surveyed the landscape. It was as if they had vanished altogether. They weren't even dots in the distance, they were just gone.

It made the hairs in the back of Goku's neck stand on end.

"Where the heck did they go?" he questioned, surveying the area they had just come from as well.

He should have been looking the other way.

Hakkai suddenly gave a grunt, and the Jeep tilted. A split second later something rammed into Goku's back and latched onto him as he was thrown face first onto the ground. He knew that if he stayed still it was all over. Whoever was attacking him would get a solid hold on him that Goku wouldn't be able to break. The instant he hit the ground, Goku use the momentum from the fall to swing his leg backwards and up, smashing his heel into what felt like someone's skull.

A grunt greeted his effort and the grip on his arms loosened. Goku twisted away and scrambled to his feet. To his left, pinned by two of the men in black and unable to break free, was Hakkai.

A curl of anger ran through Goku. He held his hand out, calling on Nyoi-Bo, and whipping it backwards to crack into another man that had been trying to grab him from behind.

"Get away from him!" Goku shouted.

He swung the Nyoi-Bo again, watching it elongate. It connected with Hakkai's the restrainers like a metal whip. Hakkai was on his feet in an instant, his monoclonal obscuring he's fake eye so that only one green orb was visible. The effect was rather ominous.

"Goku, down!" he commanded.

One did not argue with an order from Hakkai. Goku dropped to all force on the ground, a blast of Chi sailing over his head into the two men behind him.

But the two by Hakkai were on their feet again. And where was the fifth? Only four men were here, none of them the one that had hit Goku at the market. Hakkai ducked and weaved out of reach of the two men behind him as they made grabs for him. They didn't look in the least bit injured from Goku's blow, even though he had hit them hard enough to break bones, and he knew it. The two that were attacking him didn't look any worse for the wear either. What was going on? Why weren't there attacks working?

"Goku! Behind y--" Hakkai began, but was cut off by hard fist slamming into his face.

Goku whipped around, taking his eyes off his opponents to find the missing combatant standing behind him. The man locked eyes with Goku and something cold squirm to the pit of the boy's stomach.

This man was a _god_, not a demon. His ears weren't pointy, and he had the same sort of mark on his forehand that Hamura had had.

This discovery distract Goku just long enough for the two gods behind him to move forward. They grabed his arms and twist them backwards, so that Goku had to arch his back or risk popping he shoulders out of their sockets. Hakkai surged forward, barreling over the two men attacking him in the wake of this new motivation.

"Come any closer, and I can't guarantee Son Goku's safety," the fifth man said calmly.

Hakkai froze. He wasn't smiling at all.

"Hurt him, and _I _can guarantee you won't live long enough to regret it."

The fact that Hakkai could say something that threatening so calmly, and still mean it, was frightening.

The man raised an eyebrow. He looked like he was about to say something, before a loud gunshot echoed through the ears of all present. Seven pairs of eyes turned towards the Jeep. They took in the tall, red haired man holding a Shakujou and the blonde monk pointing a small handgun straight up into the air. Its barrel was still smoking.

"Sanzo," Goku breathed in a mix of relief and dread.

Shakujou realy is what Gojyo's weapon is called, I promise I didn't make that up.

* * *

So, next time, will Kyomitsu show up and stop the fighting? Did he order it to begin with? And what will the "men in black" do now that Sanzo is there too? 

P.S. I love all of you guys that reads this! You make me feel so loved with all of your reviews. Thank you so much


	4. Chapter 4

Here's the next chapter. I hope you all like it. I'm trying really hard to get Hakkai in character. He's hard to write because he acts very calm, but inside I think there's a lot of crazy stuff going on in his head. It's not easy to try to get that out when I'm not telling the chapter from his point of view…and a side note, where the heck dos Gajyo's weapon-thing go when he isn't using it? Or Goku's for that mater?

* * *

Gojyo liked to think of himself as a forgiving man. He didn't hold grudges very often (Sanzo didn't count. He forgave the guy each time he screwed up, it was just that he screwed up so often that it looked like he held a grudge.) This time though, this time, he was going to make an exception. Anyone that could make Hakkai look like he was ready to commit mass murder and could make Goku look like he was ready to have a heart attack was worth holding a grudge against.

"I seriously suggest you let the monkey go," he said calmly.

The god who seem to be acting as spokesperson for the group narrowed his eyes at Gojyo. He made a dismisses sound before turning back to Goku.

"A half breed mut and a little human do not concern me," he said arrogantly.

Gojyo felt his hand closed tightly around the staff of his weapon. He raised an eyebrow and glance at Sanzo. The monk was just as pissed.

"Tell you what, jackass, lets see you back that up," the kapa growled.

Before the god even got a chance to respond Sanzo took charge. "We already spoke to Kyomitsu. Now get lost."

That, at least, got a reaction. Loudmouth paused. Gojyo could see every muscle in his back stiffening beneath his black jacket, while the four little underlings cast around uncertain looks. Hakkai glance at Sanzo, then Gojyo when the answer he sought couldn't be found in the monk's face. Slowly the talking head turned around to scrutinize Sanzo. He stared long and hard before speaking again.

"Genjyo Sanzo, formerly Konzen Douji, I apologize for my rudeness." The god even give a little bow to show he really was trying to kiss ass. It made Gojyo dislike him even more.

"I believe you were asked to release Goku," Hakkai said pleasantly. The tone nearly made Gojyo's skin crawl. It was the "I'm going to go ape-shit and kill you in a minute" tone he'd herd only a hand full of times before.

The god gave a curt nod and signaled to his men to release Goku. The little monkey looked torn between retaliating for being held hostage during the brief negotiations, and running to guard Sanzo like a good little puppy.

"Great. It was nice seein' ya all but, seriously, go the fuck away," Gojyo said flippantly, waving his hand in dismissal. He could posture as well as any god caught with his pants down.

And that was obviously what was happening. As much as he might have disliked that pretty boy Kyomitsu the guy didn't seem the type to pull something like this. He said he would come to talk to Sanzo later, not send his goon squad after Goku. It wouldn't make sense to kidnap the monkey if they needed Sanzo to agree to go along with things. There was obviously some miscommunication going on.

Spokes-god hesitated a moment before addressing Sanzo once again. "Am I correct in assuming General Kyomitsu informed you about the offer Heaven is willing to make for the services of Son Goku?"

Sanzo's violet eyes narrowed to droopy little slits. Danm, was his god guy stupid. It was almost enough to make Gojyo laugh. Too bad the gun that crazy month liked to tote around wouldn't work on the guy.

"I heard it. I said no. I told you to leave," Sanzo growled.

Goku and Hakkai had both been inching closer to the Jeep and the rest of their group when the god spoke. Upon hearing his comment Hakkai's eyes flashed dangerously for only an instant, and then altered his course to very subtly place himself between Goku and the gods. Goku, on the other hand, looked confused.

"Sanzo, what do they want me for?" he demanded.

"To be a good little doll and kill for them," Gojyo replied. He wasn't sure why, but his gut told him anything coming out of Heaven was bad news and he had learned years ago to trust his gut.

The god who didn't know when to shut up frowned darkly. "That is not accurate. We are offering--"

"Nothing that we want, now leave," Sanzo grunted, his gun cocking for posterity's sake more than anything else.

The god gave another crisp bow before straightening his back and looking Sanzo directly in the eye. It didn't slip Gojyo's notice how only the damn monk was getting any respect here.

"Then I'll be going." The god turn to Goku suddenly and held out his hand. "But first I would like to apologize to you as well."

Goku stared uncertainly at the gods offered palm for a brief moment before gingerly grasping it in his own. The god squeezed tightly, Gojyo could see that clearly from where he stood, and after an awkward shake he dropped Goku's hand. In the blink of an eye all five men in black were gone.

"Damn, that was anticlimactic," Gojyo grumbled as his weapon slipped back into the nebulous plane it was stored in. He shifted through his jacket pocket until he found his pack of cigarettes and pulled himself out a single stick.

Goku made a face and wiped his hand on his pants. "Gross. It was all slimy," he grumbled.

Hakkai smiled, relief plane in his posture. He must've realized the guys attacking them were gods, because he wouldn't have looked half as concerned if they had been actual demons.

"Enough sidetracking, into the Jeep." The monk didn't even wait before he turned and began heading back towards Hakuryu.

Gojyo lingered until Goku had come to walk beside him before heading towards the Jeep as well. They climbed in in silence. Goku spent three very tense moments scouring the back of the Jeep until he found a small scroll lying half hidden behind the driver's seat. He snatched it up and stuffed it into his pocket without a word.

"What was that?" Gojyo asked.

A guilty flush crept up and across Goku's cheeks. "Nothin'. "

That was just too good to pass up. A sly grin curled the corners of Gojyo's lips. He brushed his long red hair out of his face as the Jeep began to move and leaned closer to Goku. "Got something dirty, huh, monkey?"

A look of absolute incredulity colored Goku face. "No! Stupid cockroach-kapa!"

"I bet it's something the baby monkey can't even understand," he teased. The kid was just too easy to get riled up.

"It is not! It is not!"

"SHUT UP OR DIE!" Sanzo hollered.

The next two days were quiet. That should've been the first clue that something was wrong. There wasn't a town anywhere close to them, so no restaurants were around for the monkey to beg over. But even still, Goku didn't mention food at all the second day after the god episode. At dinner he barely touched his food, and all day he complained about being cold. Hakkai diagnosed a probable cold and advised against overexertion.

Gojyo might have bought that too, if it wasn't for the concern looks Hakkai kept sending towards the monkey. When he mentioned it all Hakkai told Gojyo to do was "keep an eye on Goku." Even Sanzo, heartless bastard that he was, was watching the kid more closely than normal.

And now, riding in the Jeep under clear sunny skies, Goku looked uncomfortable. He is practically shivering, and his skin was slightly pale. With a grumble Gojyo shrugged his jacket off and dropped it over the monkey's head.

"What?" Goku asked, jerking as if drawn from a trance.

"Put it on. I don't want you getting me sick," said Gojyo simply as he reclined in his seat.

"They say only fools can catch colds from other people," Hakkai commented pleasantly from the driver seat.

"So Gojyo"ll be the first to get it," came Sanzo's flippant response.

Gojyo glaired at the back of the monk's head.

"Oh look, we have guessed," Hakkai chirped pleasantly, slowing the Jeep to a stop.

Standing before them, blocking the road, were four demons. A tall man with short, dark hair; a woman with her hair pulled into a high ponytail atop her head; a girl with a wide, impish grin; and a second man, shorter than the first, who stood with the pride and confidence befitting a prince.

"You have something we want," Kougaiji said in lieu of a greeting.

* * *

So, Kou and company are showing up now. A lot happened in this chapter, even if it wasn't too obvious (I hope it wasn't, I was trying to make it sneaky…) So, what will Kou add to the mix when Kyomitsu shows up again? And why is Goku suddenly getting sick?

P.S. So, it was ridiculously hard to get this chapter up for some reason. was being stupid, so if there is anything wrong with the format I'm sorry.


	5. Chapter 5

I'm sorry it took so long to get this out to you guys. I had SAts that I had to study for and then I was going to look at colleges. It was all very stressfull, but writing is a good way to relive that stress, so oh well. We get some majer plot movement in this chapter and learn a bit about what it was that happened last chapter that I bet you didn't catch. (I was trying to be sneaky about it )

* * *

There was the customary pregnant silence after that comment. Really, Hakkai had to admit he was glad to see Kougaiji and the others. The very first time he saw the group of five men in the market Hakkai knew they were gods. How could he not? And the knowledge that Kougaiji in the others were not wrapped up in any Heavenly activity this time was comforting. After all, if they weren't involved there was a better chance the conflict with Heaven would be minimal.

"Aw Jesus, don't you guys ever get tired of this?" Gojyo groaned. He was leaning back in his seat, his arms resting on the edge of the Jeep. A cigarette burnt lazily between his lips.

Dokugakuji grinned slightly, his rugged it face creasing into a deceptively jovial expression. "If we grew tired of this you'd missed us," he said.

Sanzo turned to Hakkai. His violent orbs radiated an annoyance that threatened to spill over. He leaned forward and growled, "Run them over. We don't have time for this."

His eyes flickered part way backed towards Goku before Sanzo seemed to catch himself. Hakkai understood his concerns perfectly. Goku was sick and fighting with Kougaiji wasn't going to help anything. With that in mind Hakkai turned back towards the four demons in front of him. He gave a wide, friendly smile as he reached down to shift the Jeep in the drive.

" Sorry, but we'll have to take a rain cheek on this," he said brightly.

A look of sour indignation crossed Kougaiji's features. With out saying a word of warning he launched into a chant. Hakkai cursed inwardly as both Yaone and Dokugakuji rushed forward. A round bomb sailed from Yaone's fingers towards the Jeep. For bodies flung themselves from the vehicle without a second thought.

Yaone was nice, but her bomb still hurt when they exploded.

Hakuruyu gave a small cheep and begin pumping his little wings, rising high above the battle and any more possible attacks.

" Oh, that's it," Gojyo shouted. He sounded angry, but Hakkai knew he was enjoying this. Any time he got to see his brother made Gajyo happy, though he would never admit that allowed.

Kougaiji gave a shout and a burning ball of fire erupted from the empty space between his palms. It rocketed off toward Sanzo, who cursed vehemently and rolled out of the way. Goku picked himself up off the ground with a groan that he quickly turned into a growl as he saw the near collision with Sanzo.

"Stupid Kougaiji," he grumbled.

Hakkai raised an eyebrow before moving to place herself beside Goku. If he was calling Kougaiji names, something was definitely off. A blonde streak bounded into Hakkai's peripheral vision. He had only a second to react for Lirin was inches away from his face. She grinned and leapt for his head. A surge of adrenaline ran through Hakkai as he dove under the girl. He felt the ghost of a blow on his left shoulder.

It could've been worse.

As small and Goku-like as she might appear, Lirin was a force to reckon with. Hakkai had no desire to engage her in a fight.

A pair of boots stepped in to view.

"It's good to see you Hakkai-dono."

Hakkai pushed himself to his feet and gave a polite smile. Yaone stood, staff and hand. She had her customary shy expression coloring her faceas she looked down at him. Hakkai could almost see the ghost of someone else in that face, someone important. But when he tried to discern who it was that clung to her like a shadow the ghost always vanished.

"It's good to see you too," he said. He honestly enjoyed Yaone's company, but now really wasn't the best of times. "I'm sorry, but today isn't a very opportune day for this."

A look of concern flashed across Yaone's face. She slid her hand along her staff and frowned. "I'm sorry, but my Lord wishes it, and I do anything for him."

Hakkai side. He should've known he get that sort of response. It wasn't like Yaone's devotion to Kougaiji was something new.

"Goku? Goku!"

Hakkai froze. That wasn't Gojyo's voice. It wasn't even Sanzo's. No, the voice that was full of concern was Kougaiji's. Yaone's eyes caught Hakkai's and a silent agreement pass between them. This fight was on hold until further notice. As one they turned and ran toward the two still forms.

Kougaiji held Goku's limp body in his arms. The prince was wide-eyed as he stared down at the boy. Goku was white as a ghost, save for his cheeks, which were so red they looked as if someone had rubbed them vigorously. A shudder ran through his small body, but only once.

There was a soft, deadly click that immediately drew every one's attention Kougaiji looked up to Sanzo slowly. The monk had his gun pressed against Kougaiji's temple, and his eyes were narrow to such angry slits Hakkai was positive he couldn't see out of them any longer.

"What the hell did you do?" he asked in a cold, calm voice.

Dokugakuji and Yaone exchanged worried looks. Lirin practically hissed at Sanzo. She slipped past Dokugakuji and up to her brother's side to glare angrily at the blonde man.

"Onii-chan didn't do anything! Don't you point that thing at him, you baldy!" she shouted.

Sanzo completely ignored her. He and Kougaiji stared unblinkingly at each other. "I didn't do anything to hurt him like this. Goku's sick." Red eyes turned to Hakkai and Yaone, a regal amount of authority rising up in them, "He needs help. Idon't know how to fix this, and I'm shore Sanzo doesn't neither. Help him."

For a moment no one did anything then Hakkai moved forward slowly. Sanzo was volatile of the best of times, and anything involving Goku made things worse. Gojyo moved forward as well. Slowly he reached out and placed his hand on Sanzo's, while Hakkai took Goku's limp form very carefully from Kougaiji's arms.

"Calm down. Shit, you won't help anyone by shooting people," Gajyo advised.

Yaone handed her staff to Dokugakuji before stepping forward to assists Hakkai. She waited anxiously while Hakkai inspected Goku. The boy's breathing was labored and shallow, and perspiration clung to his hair. Hakkai wasn't sure whether the sweat was due to whatever ailment had crippled him or if it was because of his fight with Kougaiji. There was no _outward _reason for Goku to have passed out, but _inside _was another story.

Hakkai allowed his Chi to wash out over the small body that lay beneath his hands. An icy tendral reached out and latched onto his Chi. A cold so intense it burnt flared up and began to known on it. Hakkai couldn't breathe, couldn't move, couldn't think. Through the connection an image flashed into his mind. It showed the icy cold rain all through Goku's body.

Someone grabbed his shoulders and jerked Hakkai away from Goku. He blinked in surprise, shuddering once as the cold left him. Yaone's face moved into view, partially obscured by a curtain of red. Gojyo leaned down over him, a frown painting his face.

"What the hell?" he snapped.

Hakkai blink again. He pulled away from Gojyo and straightened up. Goku liked just as still as before. He might have been asleep if not for the sheen of sweat that covered his body.

"There's something wrong with him," Hakkai breathed, dread begin to creep into his bones. "It felt like something was _eating _my Chi, and that something is still in Goku."

Silence greeted this revelation. Sanzo was the first to regained his voice. He gave a low, angry growl as he stared down at Goku. It looked like he was moments away from losing what control he had over himself. The dread in Hakkai grew worse. Without Chi Goku would die, _anyone _would if there life force was robbed from them. He calms Sanzo was hard to control, and enraged one would be impossible, and control was what was needed in a situation like this.

"It's that damn Kyomitsu. That bastard had something to do with this," the monk said angrily.

Kougaiji give a small start. His red eyes widened and slowly he turned to look over at Sanzo.

"Kyomitsu?" he repeated.

"Who's Kyo--me--soo?" Lirin asked, her tongue tripping over the unfamiliar word.

"He's another god that's stocking the monkey," Goyjo answer distractedly from behind Hakkai's shoulder.

Kougaiji looked like he had swallowed something bitter. His eyes moved from Gojyo, to Sanzo, and then back down to Goku once more, both rated orbs narrowed to contemplatev slits. Youne and Dokugakuji exchanged worried looks before Dokugakuji leaned forward and clapped a large hand down on Kougaiji's shoulder.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked.

"You've heard of Kyomitsu before, haven't you?" Hakkai said seriously when Kougaiji didn't answer.

Red eyes turned to face green. Kougaiji nodded his head once solemnly.

"Yes. He was one of the gods that helped kill my father."

* * *

So, Kuo and Kyomitsu have some history. What are they going to do with Goku? Was he really poisoned and did Kyomitsu really have something to do with it? Dun dun dun…

Pleas R and R.

Thank You!


	6. Chapter 6

Ok, another chapter! Yay. Sorry it took so long to get this thing out, but it's much better because of the wait, the wonderful _Eyes of Shinigami _bata-red this for me! I think we should all grovel appropriately. Honestly, how many people would take time out of there lives to help with this? Any way, this chapter is for any one that likes Kou, because he gets to tell it.

* * *

There were certain things Kougaiji just wanted to forget, certain people he would've been happier never thinking about again. Kyomitsu was one such person. Kougaiji could still recall how their first and, he had hoped, last meeting had played out. He could remember racing down the halls of his castle home, his heart beating so hard within his rib cage that it threatened to explode right out of his chest. His shoes echoed off the hard stone walls as he darted around a sharp corner, skidding to a halt when he saw what was waiting for him there. Kougaiji always had a sneaking suspicion that his footsteps had given him away.

His mother, Rasatsunyo, stood at the end of the hall, surrounded by at least twenty of the heavenly soldiers. She fought them off valiantly, but he could tell she was losing. As one perfectly manicured hand struck out at the closest intruder her eyes caught his, drawn by the sound of his footsteps, and her face transformed. One moment Rasatsunyo had appeared regal and in range, the next she was staring at Kougaiji in shocked horror. She was wiser then her husband could ever claim to be. She recognized the danger of an attack from Heaven itself and had tried with all her might to get her son as far away from the confrontation as demonly possible. Seeing him in the one place she hoped not to drew her focus completely away from the battle at hand and to the safety of her only child instead. She moved blindly towards her son, worry etched into her features.

It was that moment of distraction that led to her death. Kougaiji saw the blow descend on her head, saw her fall the cold stone floor, and then he saw red. A howl of rage ripped past his lips as he charged toward his mother. He was knocked suddenly forward by what could only be described as a steel bar crashing into his abdomen, his chin hitting the ground so hard that it jarred his whole head. Hands gripped him tightly, holding him down as he struggled.

"Calm down, she's not dead," a voice hissed in his ear. The sheer unconcerned tone of that voice nearly drove Kougaiji over the edge.

"I'll kill you!" he snarled venomously as he struggled.

"You'll be reunited soon enough," the heavenly soldier continued calmly. His composer only enraged Kougaiji more.

"Kyomitsu! Stop playing around, we have bigger fish to fry than some baby demon," another soldier snapped. He looked down at the demon prince disdainfully, as if he were looking at some sort of insect.

"I'm coming," the soldier pinning Kougaiji to the ground replied. The memorie of that night got hazy after that point, but it didn't matter. He didn't want to think about that night. There are more pressing matters to deal with. Goku looked paler now than he had ten minutes ago. If he spent any more time reminiscing about the past Kougaiji feared the boy might just die in front of him. As much as he might dislike Sanzo Kougaiji never could quite bring himself to hate the child that traveled with the monk. If Goku died it would be… unsettling.

"Well, shit," Gojyo snapped, raking his hand threw his hair in a nervous gesture that every one pretended not to recognize for what it was. "This Kyomitsu guy gets around."

"Give me the chance and I'll kill the guy with my bare hands," Dokugakuji growled, his voice a low rumble.

Kougaiji had the feeling Dokugakuji's anger was as much for him as it was for Goku. He wasn't exactly sure why, but that thought made him feel slightly guilty.

A chorus of six sharp popping noises sounded somewhere behind him, causing everyone present to freeze. Kougaiji could see the shadowy reflection of bodies in Yaone's eyes as they grew wide. With a silent curse, his own eyes darted to Sanzo's, the monks expression radiating cold fury and an unspoken agreement.

_ Kill him. _

Kougaiji turned, the human a fraction of a second behind him. Six men knelt not five feet away from their group, one man positioned slightly before the others. It was that man who raised his head slowly, locking startlingly turquoise eyes on Sanzo.

"Have you made a decision yet, Genjo Sanzo?" he asked calmly. It was the same calm tone that had spoken into Kougaiji's ear the night his mother was killed.

Years of anger bubbling to the surface once again. Had he made a "decision" yet? After poisoning a child and aiding in the murder of an innocent woman that was all that bastard had to say for himself? Without thinking Kougaiji rushed forward, fire licking at his fingertips as he charged towards the god. Consequences be damned, this fight was about honor, which this god seemed to be lacking. He tackled Kyomitsu, grimly satisfied by the flash of surprise in those turquoise eyes.

His momentum flung them both head over heels backwards. The men behind Kyomitsu move forward, springing off their knees to confront the demon attacking their leader. Kougaiji didn't care. All he was concerned with was the fact that his blazing fist had connected with the god's chin.

"Stand down!" Kyomitsu shouted. His foot somehow found its way between his stomach and Kougaiji's. He used it to propel the demon prince away from him. Kougaiji hit the ground with his back, a rock grinding into his left shoulder. As he lay there, waiting for the air to return to his lungs, some distant part of his mind warned that something was wrong, that he was in danger, but he couldn't really tell why. Ignoring the thought all together, he rose to his feet, intent on attacking the god once more. He was stopped as Sanzo's voice rang loud and clear through his ears.

"Kougaiji, get the hell out of the way."

Red eyes flickered back towards the monk and widened with understanding. Sanzo was using his sacred scripture. That was what had begun to make his skin crawl. Kougaiji got well out of the way as quickly as possible. He had no desire to be on the wrong end of that spell.

" Makai Tenjo!" Sanzo shouted, his arm flung out in the direction of the god.

The scripture erupted from the monk's hands. Reams and reams of thick parchment snaked passed the spot Kougaiji had stood in only moments ago. He watched in something near grim fascination wile they wrapped around the god's arms and legs and waste and neck. Kyomitsu's calm face twitched into something very near discomfort.

Kougaiji's eyes widened when a thin trail of smoke curled from beneath the scroll. Realization donned on the prince all at once. They were fighting a god. What could possibly be more damaging to a god than a weapon from the gods?

The soldiers move towards their leader again, but Kyomitsu gave a very small shake of his head to halt them. Sanzo move forward slowly, deliberately. There was an ominous wait to his steppes; his eyes never left the god's face, narrowed as they were to smaller slits then Kougaiji had ever seen them before. The others hung back, guarding Goku's still form, all a bit nervous about what the volatile monk was planning to do. Said monk stopped when he'd come directly before the god. Kougaiji didn't move any closer, for fear of falling into the scripture's range of power, but it didn't matter. From his current position he had a perfect vantage point from which he could see both Kyomitsu's and Sanzo's faces clearly.

"I want to know what the hell you did to the monkey," the blonde said in the most deadly even tone Kougaiji had heard him used to date. It didn't seem to intimidate the god in the least, which was disappointing.

"I don't know what you are talking about," Kyomitsu replied simply, as if he thought the near question was superfluous. Even bound as he was by the scripture the god managed to look composed.

The telltale click of a Smith & Wesson sounded as the gun was raised until it was level with Kyomitsu's head. "Don't play dumb." The 'you bustard' was implied.

Turquoise eyes narrowed slightly. Kougaiji couldn't tell if that was from annoyance or pain. "I'm not."

Sanzo gave a small growl, his slim hold on patience beginning to fray. "He got sick after your men attacked him."

"My men?" Kyomitsu replied sharply, one eye brow twitching as if to be raise.

Sanzo, on the other hand, did raise an eyebrow, while his eyes narrowed still further.

"Your men," he replied coldly. "They mentioned _you_."

"I swear to you, Genjyo Sanzo, I would not have sent anyone after Son Goku," the god said, a note of sincerity creeping into his voice at last.

Sanzo move closer, curling the fist of his free hand into the front of the god's shirt. "Don't fuck with me. If Goku dies I swear--"

"I wouldn't kill him. He's no good to me dead," Kyomitsu said seriously.

There was a long, tense moment where no one moved. The god and the human seen to be standing each other down, each trying to decide how truthful the other was actually being by picking apart the other's soul threw his eyes. Satisfied with what he saw, Sanzo lowered his gun and release the front of the god's uniform. He held out his left hand silently so that the scripture returned to his palm, rolled neatly once more and looking perfectly harmless. Kyomitsu said something that even Kougaiji's superb hearing couldn't make out and Sanzo grunted before looking away.

"Lieutenant!" Kyomitsu barked.

A small god, completely bald, and very severer looking, ran to Kyomitsu side. He gave a sharp salute.

"Sir."

"See to the boy," Kyomitsu instructed, gesturing with his chin towards Goku's still form.

Sanzo turned away from the god and locked eyes with Kougaiji. The demon prince gave a small nod and fell in line behind the priest as they return to the tense group stationed around Goku. He made his way back slowly on purpose, his eyes sliding almost against his will to fall on Kyomitsu's face. There was recognition in the god's gaze, but little else.

* * *

Their you have it my friends. Is Kyomitsu heartless enough to poisons kids, or is there something more sinister going on hear? And what was Goku poisoned with, what is it doing to him? And more importantly, how dose Sanzo fix it? I tried to keep every one in character, and Kou was surprisingly nice to write threw (Hakkai was the most difficult, because he has a strangely complicated mind. At least I think so). 


	7. Chapter 7

I'm so sorry that it took me this long to get the next chapter up. The only excuse I have is that for about a week the ff.n wouldn't let me upload anything… I don't know why. Any way, hear it is. Thank you again to my bata reader, who made this chapter about five times better then it would have been!

* * *

Goku shivered, his whole body shaking. Sweat clung to his hair and his skin had taken on ashen hue. His face contorted into a pained expression before slipping once again into a look of relative peace. It was all Sanzo could do to stop himself from shooting at the diminutive god that knelt beside his charge.  
Kyomitsu stood beside Sanzo. Kougaiji stood beside Yaone, a scowl darkening his features. He had never looked quite so demonic, with his eyes narrowed and every muscle in his body seeming to have gone taut. The red in his eyes blazed from within his scowling face. His equally red-hair maked it appear as if his whole head had caught fire due to his anger. Sanzo had a feeling it was only Yaone's tentative hand on his arm that kept the prince from doing anything more than glower.  
It didn't matter. Sanzo didn't have time to deal with Kougaiji's issues; he had enough issues of his own. If Kyomitsu didn't fix whatever the hell was wrong with Goku with the next five minutes, someone was going to get a bullet in the head. And Sanzo already had his eyes on a likely target.  
They had been standing here for ten minutes already, watching the minuscule god poke and prod and fiddle with Goku's unresponsive form. The god's face had steadily grown more and more serious as his inspection went on. Hakkai watched him with the eyes of a professional, which settled some of Sanzo's agitation. God or not, the short shit wouldn't get anything past Hakkai.  
The god leaned forward and ran his fingers over the golden diadem around Goku's head. His expression went from severe to flat out dark. The man rose slowly to his feet, and bowed at the waist to Sanzo before speaking solely to Kyomitsu.  
"Sir, diagnosis complete."  
Kyomitsu nodded. "And what did you find soldier?"  
The short god hesitated a fraction of a second. It could mean nothing, but Sanzo was willing to gamble that it meant everything. If the soldier was hesitant to give a report to his own general something was very wrong. To the monk's slight surprise it was Dokugakuji's attention that sharpened most. The swordsmen was eyeing the heavenly medic in a unpleasant, almost hostile way. Was he as suspicious of this hole predicament as Sanzo himself?  
"Sir, the boy is poisoned," the guard applied instantly.  
If Sanzo hadn't been suspicious before, he sure as hell was now. "Poisoned"? They had known that much before Kyomitsu and his little entourage had shown up. Telling them that Goku had been "poisoned" amounted to jack shit. He wasn't the only one who had realized this. Dokugakuji's eyes darted towards Kougaiji, then down towards Goku before coming to rest once again on the god.

Kyomitsu's turquoise eyes narrowed ever so slightly while an eyebrow rose to somewhere in the vicinity of his hairline.  
"Yes, I was aware of that. What I want to know is what he is poisoned with," said Kyomitsu somewhat coldly.  
The medic was sweating; it is only a matter of time before he started fidgeting. Sanzo felt his hand close tightly around his gun.  
"Oh come on, you short little fat guy! Just tells what's wrong with him!" Lirin snapped. She had her hands on her hips and was staring at the god indignantly. Short as he was, Lirin still only came to the shoulder. The fact that the man had a good head over her and was, for all intents and purposes, immortal and armed, did not inspire the least bit of respect from the girl.  
"I'm inclined to agree with her," Kyomitsu commented simply as he gazed down at the medic.  
"Sir, Son Goku has been poisoned with Seele esser."  
There is a finality with that diagnosis that Sanzo didn't like one bit. In fact, it made him want to shoot the fat god just on principle. The added fact that he had no idea what " Seele esser" was made something cold and hard, and too much like dread for his comfort, to churn in Sanzo's stomach. Even Hakkai looked like he had no idea what the god was talking about, and he could normally be counted on to know what was what.  
" Mind telling us with the hell 'Seele esser' is?" the monk growled into the silence that had follow the god's declaration.  
Kyomitsu did not respond at once. His eyes had widened almost incandescently as he stared at his medic. Tension built up in the god's back and neck, causing him to appear angrier than before. He turned slowly to look at Sanzo, and there was a shadow of concern in his gaze that made Sanzo want to shoot him as well. Or roast him alive with the Maten Suture and then feed him to Goku as soon as the idiot woke up.  
" Selle Esser is a poison that is refined in Heaven. It is not an earthly ailment, so it does not surprise me that you don't know what it does to its victims," Kyomitsu began.  
"Well, you sure as hell aren't clear things up for anyone," Dokugakuji said coldly. He moved slightly in front of Kougaiji and the two women from their group. It was quite clearly a silent sign that what trust he had in the god was wavering. Dokugakuji was first and foremost a soldier after all, it was his job to assess the situation and to provide protection when he felt it was necessary. Apparently, he felt it was necessary now.  
Kyomitsu didn't look pleased with the comment. He frowned at the taller daemon for a moment before turning back to Sanzo, the others did not seem to want an explanation of their own.  
"Seele Esser affects its victim in a very individualistic way. It eats a person's life force slowly. Each bit of life force that it absorbs and takes into itself is used to spread the poison throughout the victim's body until they are nothing but an empty shell. It is a slow and painful process, the more life force a person has the longer it takes for them to die. The less life force a person has the shorter the suffering will be, but the more acute the pain," the god said seriously.  
The implications of that explanation immediately registered in Sanzo's mind. There was no confusion, no uncertainty. Goku was going to die if he wasn't given help, and somehow it felt like Sanzo was responsible for that.  
"Some poison to have floating around in Heaven, especially when killing is a taboo up there," Gojyo said darkly. He was glaring at Kyomitsu in open hatred. If Sanzo hadn't been so close to going on a heretical killing spree, he might have found the hypocrisy of the whole situation rather funny. Heaven was going to murder someone completely innocent.  
"It isn't just sitting around for anyone to use. The poison is kept locked away, only the emperor has a key to the store room..." the general began. Again, tense jump. Use "There was something odd about the way his explanation stopped so abruptly, but Sanzo really didn't care at the moment.  
"Fix him," the monk growled venomously.  
Lirin gave a small "oh" of surprise and shifted closer to Gojyo, putting more space between herself and the monk. There was a promise of death in his words that even she had been able to detect. The soldiers standing behind Kyomitsu shifted ominously. There hands flexed closer to the weapons strapped on there belts as they gave the mortals present looks that said quite clearly " If you give us a reason we will kill you."  
"This is not something that I can snap my fingers and heal, Genjyo Sanzo," the god said coldly.  
" I don't care how you fix him, I'm just telling you to do it," Sanzo replied just as icily.  
Kyomitsu said nothing. His vibrant eyes stayed glued to the monks, a battle of wills enacted. Whoever looked away first would be admitting to defeat, and both of them knew it.  
"If he's going to die because of life forced depletion can we boost his natural supply somehow?" Hakkai asked clinically. His tone was calculating and focused, the sort of voice he used when he was trying to work out some difficult problem.  
Yaone gave a small nod, glancing hesitantly from Hakkai to the medic. "That seems like a good idea, that way we can sustain his life while we work out a way to create an antidote," she said softly, but just as clinically as Hakkai. Somehow, despite all of her hesitation, Yaone still had an unusual amount of intelligence and ingenuity at her disposal. Even Sanzo could see her years of apothecary service coming to the surface as she ran her fingers over the vials on her belt, silently formulating even as she tried to mediate.  
The look of inspiration flashed across Lirin's face. She grinned wildly, looking immensely pleased with herself. "Got a great idea, mhum. Yep, we just have to take his crown thingy off, and then he'll have more life stuff then he'll know what to do with, " she said, sounding very proud.  
Gojyo jumped right on the bandwagon. He grinned and slapped his hand down onto Lirin's shoulder, giving in an appreciate squeeze.  
"That's right! If we take the diadam off he'll have more life force, just like Yaone, and Hakkai need!" he cried in excitement.  
The medic's expression seemed to go from bad to worse. He now looked about ready to smack both Goku and Lirin. He turned stiffly to Kyomitsu, who was also frowning, and asked, "Permission to speak freely, sir?"  
Kyomitsu nodded distractedly, still glaring at the munk. "Permission granted."  
The medic turned back to Gojyo and said severely, "That would be the worst possible thing you could do for him at this point. That diadam is going to keep him alive longer."  
Sanzo's eyes shot to the fat god, narrowed and calculating.

"Why?" he demanded.  
The medic, who had begun to engage in a staring match with Gojyo (Lirin was too preoccupied with making faces at the god to bother with simply staring), slowly turned to look back at Sanzo. He gave a small bowed his head before saying, " The diadam acts as a shield. It will keep part of his life force protected from the poison, when the rest of his life force is contaminated it can be used to buy him more time."  
"But we still need an antidote, or it won't make much of a difference," Hakkai said softly.  
The medic nodded, his eyes darting to Kyomitsu. The god seemed deep in thought. He appeared to consider his options for a long moment, staring down at Goku silently. The boy had begun to whimper softly, his body giving small shudders of discomfort.  
"There is an antidote," he began.  
"But there's a catch, isn't there?" Kougaiji demanded, his voice so full of hate it made Kyomitsu raise an eyebrow in surprise.  
The god gave the demon prince of cold, haughty look before answering. "I suppose you could say that."   
Sanzo had had enough. With a resounding bang he unloaded a shot, the burial of his gun inches away from the god's forehead. Yaone gave a screech of surprise and clapped her hands over her eyes. Gojyo and his brother had identical looks of surprise on their faces, Lirin's small hands close tightly around Dokugakuji's belt. She had never seen Sanzo shoot someone in anger, not like that. The others didn't look in the least bit surprised, they simply watch silently as the heavenly soldier sprang forward, swords drawn.  
"I told you to stand down!" Kyomitsu bellowed.  
His bright turquoise eyes were on Sanzo, not the bullet that was falling uselessly to the ground. He didn't look in the least bit happy.  
"Get to the fucking point. Now," growled the monk venomously.  
"The antidote is in Heaven. We must return there and get it, or Son Goku will die," he replied immediately.  
Sanzo felt his anger spike. "You expect me to believe you'll come back?"  
"No," Kyomitsu said seriously. "I expect you to come with me."

* * *

There you have it. I tried really hard to keep every one in character up until this point, and it is HARD to keep Sanzo properly pissed off without making him seen unrealistically mad.

So the next question is: Will Sanzo go to Heaven to get the antidote Kyomitsu said is there? Is there really an antidote at all? And if Kyomitsu didn't poison Goku who did?

I'm having so much fun with this! Pleas R&R!


	8. Chapter 8

Sorry about the massively long update time. There were a lot of reasons, including up not limited to ending up in the hospital for a bit (I was sick), being on evac. warning for the last two weeks because of a massive fire that's burnt up about a third of the state, and good old fashion laziness... Sorry about that last one Unfortunately this chapter wasn't batad...Sorry about that too. But something actually happens this time! Yay for progress!

* * *

Gojyo was not one to feel a maddening desire to murder very often. In fact, he could count on one hand the amount of times he had actually set out to kill someone and still have over three fingers left to spare. He had wanted to kill that crazy Kami-sama at first, but only at first. Once he discovered how truly screwed up the guy was he had felt vindicated by simply not saving him. It wasn't murder; it was death by circumstance.

Now though, now Gojyo could feel a cold, gnawing hatred burning at his innards. He had never been able to handle a child being abused, it always brought with it a dark  
kinship to his own past that he would rather not have to feel. Despite what the monkey said to the contrary he was still a child, and he was hurting. The sheer audacity that Kyomitsu bastard displayed made Gojyo want to shove something sharp right between his shoulder blades, and then twist it a few times. Just to the get the message across. The

"I don't know why the kid's dying in front of me after my men attacked him" bit was bull shit. Insisting that they could only get an antidote in Heaven was out and out entrapment.

"You're a lying bastard," he hissed, fingers twitching to call forth his weapon.

Sharp turquoise eyes moved slowly towards his face. It was clear enough that the god was getting pissed, but Gojyo didn't care.

"That's right, you heard me you prick! You're lying threw your sanctimonious teeth and you know it! You're the reason that Goku's like this, you poisoned him just to  
get Sanzo to go to Heaven with you!" he shouted, taking a half step forward.

"I'm inclined to agree," said Dokugokuji coldly, eyeing the four gods standing behind Kyomitsu appraisingly. Gojyo was positive his brother was debating weather he could take them all on or not.

Kyomitsu met the statement with a moment of silence. His mouth twisted and turned down as if he had tasted something bitter. "I am only going to say this once. I do  
not know how Son Goku was poisoned. I did not authorize any such action. I am willing to fix the problem, and under the circumstances, I respect the fact that you are concerned for his safety. I also respect the fact that you were once a general yourself Sha Gojyo, but if you call me a liar one more time I promise you will regret it," the god said icily.

Gojyo was momentarily taken aback. Once a general himself? Where was Kyomitsu getting this shit? Now he though about it, the god had called him Kenren the first time the met, hadn't he? And that was what Homura had called him as well. Why was that? There were few things in life that Gojyo was sure of and the fact that he was not a god was one of them.

Once the momentary distraction of Kyomitsu words had run its course Gojyo found himself more pissed than before. His hand opened wide, the prickle of the power he used to summon his weapon dancing across his skin. But before he could actually summon the weapon forward Sanzo spoke.

"How do you even plan on getting me to Heaven? I don't recall you gods being too eager for visitors up until now," the monk said in that perfectly arrogant, perfectly cold voice that meant he wanted to shoot someone for there shear stupidity.

Kyomitsu had a harder time ignoring the tone this time. He took a visible moment to collect himself before responding to the question, although when he spoke his voice  
was as business like as could be. "The Jade Emperor has granted me the power to transport mortals between the realms. That was how I planed on getting you and Son Goku to Heaven in the first place."

"Would this equate to a one-way trip?" Hakkia asked calmly as his fingers brushed Goku's hair away from his face.

Gojyo was willing to bet a weeks worth of cigarettes that the be man didn't even notice what he was doing. Goku and Hakkia had a relationship that existed somewhere between parental figure and best friend. Goku trusted and respected Hakkia. If the kid had a problem it was normally Hakkai that he turned to talk it over with. The two interacted in a way that was completely different from the way that Goku interacted with any one else. For Goku, Gojyo tried to be the brother that he wished he had had growing up. That was why he teased the monkey so much, and really, the kid enjoyed it.

But Sanzo was different still. Sanzo was like the son to the monkey, one great big beacon of light that Goku's whole existence revolved around. While the monkey would be  
devastated without Hakkia and Gojyo, he would be destroyed without Sanzo.

And Gojyo new that despite what the damn monk said to the contrary, without Goku there would be no Sanzo either.

But Hakkia had brought up a valid point. So what if getting to Heaven was no problem? What good would it do if there was no way to get back?

" I believe that depends on if the Emperor realizes that there is a mortal in Heaven," Kyomitsu replied slowly.

"And if he does realize?" Kougaiji asked venomously.

"Then, yes, it will be a one-way trip. His wish is for Son Goku to stay, and the only way to do that is by having Genjo Sanzo stay." The answer was to Kougaiji's question, but Kyomitsu kept his eyes locked on Sanzo while he spoke.

The monk didn't miss a beat. "Then he sure as hell better not find out because I'm not staying in Heaven and Goku's not coming with us," he countered as he reached for a cigarette within the folds of his sleeves.

Yaone looked slightly surprised. She shifted her weight awkwardly from foot to foot as she gravitated subconsciously closer to Hakkia for support. A troubled glance was shot in the direction of her prince before she voiced a question that she knew would be painful.

"Wouldn't it be safer in the long run to take Goku with you? So he can get the antidote sooner?" she asked quietly.

Sanzo didn't even look at her. Instead he glared at Kyomitsu as if the god had been the one to suggest such a thing. "Goku is not going to Heaven. I'm going, and I'll be  
back with the antidote by midnight at the latest."

Kyomitsu gave a small nod. While he seemed to be satisfied with the decision, no one else was. Gojyo wanted to punch Sanzo for being so stupid. The half breed was positive this whole thing was a trap. Once Sanzo ran off to Heaven they would all be screwed. Who was to say that the one Kyomitsu really wanted wasn't actually Sanzo, rather then Goku? Who was to say that poisoning Goku wasn't just a ploy to get Sanzo to go to Heaven?

"All right. Genjo Sanzo and I will go the Heaven together, get the antidote, and bring it back here to administer to Son Goku," said Kyomitsu in a brisk tone. It was clear  
at a glance that now that there was a plan he was feeling much more in control. But his words struck a cord with Gojyo.

"_You _and Sanzo? What about your group?" he asked, not caring in the least weather or not he was keeping the dislike out of his voice.

The god nodded, catching onto the half breed's concern right away. "My men will stay with Son Goku and your companions. It is, after all, easier to sneak two men in then it  
is to sneak seven," said Kyomitsu calmly.

It made sense in theory, but theory only. How did they know that the damn gods weren't going to run off with Goku the minute Sanzo was out of sight? They were trustworthy in the greatest sense of the word.

"They'll be waiting to take Goku to Heaven the second Sanzo is gone," Kougaiji said simply.

Kyomitsu gave the demon prince a long look. There was recognition in his gaze. There was even something that might have been guilt, but Gojyo couldn't be sure. But when the god finally spoke again it was in a tone of respect that he had previously shown only to Sanzo.

"They will not do that. On my honor they will only protect Son Goku, they will not remove him from your care," he said seriously.

Kougaiji didn't look convinced. "The honor of a god is always subject to question," he said coldly.

Kyomitsu looked levelly at him for a long moment before replying. "I swear open the Jade Emperor that my men will not harm Son Goku. They will protect him while Genjo Sanzo is away and they will not remove him from the care and safety of his friends," he said solemnly and clearly, catching the eyes of ever one present, including his soldiers. The soldiers gave synchronized nods of acceptance. Sanzo said nothing, but it didn't look like he was going to disregard the promise altogether. Gojyo had to admit, it had sounded sincere...

Lirin, it seemed, as still rather suck on an earlier comment. She turned to Sanzo and waved her hands in an urgent manner. "You still haven't said what you'll do if the green emperor finds you," she pointed out.

The small lieutenant made an aghast, choking sound. He wiped around to glare fiercely at Lirin. " He is the Jade Emperor! Not the green emperor!" he shouted in outrage.

Lirin rounded on him, her hair whipping in her haist to snarl at the god. "Jade, green, who cares! He's what ever I say he is!"

Gojyo laughed. For the first time he was really liking Kougaiji's little sister. The god looked as if he was going to argue the point, but Hakkai cut him off.

"She does have a point, Sanzo. Do you have a plan for if the emperor does find you?"  
Sanzo gazed at Hakkia for a long moment. He took a drag of his cigarette, his face set in a look of cool defiance. He exhaled, the cigarette caught between his middle and  
fore finger.

"Plan? The plan's 'fuck him'," the monk said in a deadpan.

Every one present stared at the Sanzo in utter shock. The shear audacity of a man of the gods saying such a thing about the Jade Emperor himself left them speechless. Gojyo  
slapped a hand to his face in exasperation. He enjoys doing this, he thought. Honestly, Sanzo was the only one that could get away with saying that sort of shit. Coming from  
anyone eals it would have been utter crap, a bunch of empty words that didn't mean a thing. Any one else would simply have been trying to sound impressive. With Sanzo it  
was all honest irrelevance. It didn't mater if it was the Emperor of Heaven or Earth that opposed him, not if the guy pissed him off. But that didn't mean that the monk wasn't  
being a stubborn bastard.

Kyomitsu was almost smiling. His lips turned upwards at the very least. "Fine. Just as long as you understand the risks. We should leave immediately. Son Goku doesn't have much time," he said.

"That's just fine. I'll be going with you as well, to protect Sanzo's back,' Gojyo declared firmly, a feral grin curling up his lips. Let that damn god try and stop him.

A very pregnant pause followed this declaration. Sanzo turned slowly to lock eyes with Gojyo. A dry wind ruffled the hair on his fore head as he took a long drag of his  
cigarette. Slowly he removed it from between his lips and exhaled the smoke in a long stream.

"You're coming?' he asked seriously.

"Damn strait," the half bread insisted.

"I think I changed my mind about going," the monk deadpanned.

Gojyo felt his jaw drop. He had never wanted to punch the monk as badly as he did then. " What the hell is that supposed to mean, you sun of a bitch?!"

"What the hell do you think it means, you damn cockroach?"

Gojyo gave an angry snarl and took a half step forward, fully intent on slamming his fist into the basterd's nose. Instantly Hakkai spoke up. "Now, now. I'm sure Sanzo  
was just kidding. He realizes the intelligence of bringing someone that he trusts with him to Heaven," he said soothingly, but with a hint of forcefulness in his voice that said quite  
plainly, " Agree, or bad things will happen."

One look at Sanzo's face was enough to prove that he had thought no such thing. He glanced a Gojyo with an arrogant look that spoke volumes. If it was someone that he  
trusted then maybe he wouldn't have made the comment. What pissed Gojyo off even more was the fact that he knew Sanzo actually meant every bit of his skepticism.

"He does this on purpose," Gojyo snarled.

"I hate to interrupt you, but if you are going to leave it has to be now," Kyomitsu interjected firmly.

"What are we waiting for then?" the monk responded promptly. He didn't wait for Kyomitsu to respond. Instead Sanzo walked past him, so that he was standing before the  
solders that would be left behind. " You're staying here because you have to, not because I trust you," he began in a icy tone. "If you touch Goku while we're gone I will personally rip your heads off." He turned to Hakkia and said " If they even look at Goku wrong kill them. They're only immortal until they die."  
Despite the oddness of that statement Gojyo knew Sanzo had a point. The godswould not get old, they would not get sick, but they could be killed. Hadn't Homura and  
his two lackeys proved that much? Gods could be killed, and every one present that mattered had been witness to it. If any one could take on the solders it was Hakkai.

"We'll stay as well," Kougaiji said firmly. "I don't particularly like you, but Goku is an honorable opponent and deserves better then this. We'll protect him while you are  
gone."

The unspoken "because I hate Kyomitsu more them I hate you" was overlooked. Sanzo gave the demon prince a curious look, one eyebrow raised. He nodded is acceptance, before adding in an off handed manner, "You can kill him too, Hakkia, if you need to."

Kougaiji gave a small smile that was mirrored by Hakkia. Gojyo had a feeling something meaningful had just past between the greatest annoyance of the group's  
collective lives (up until Homura, and now Kyomitsu) and the greatest annoyance to his personal existence. He glanced at Dokugokuji curiously. The tall demon grind openly,  
sword in hand as he moved to take up watch before Goku. Gojyo knew with out a doubt that he would die before he let anything happen to Goku.

He felt a little bit better about leaving the monkey and Hakkai now.

Kyomitsu moved forward. With out warning he reached out and caught both Sanzo and Gojyo by the wrist. A strange prickling feeling spread through Gojyo's arm. He  
blinked, but his eyes refused to open up again. A pressure like nothing he had ever felt before slammed down on his shoulders with out any warning. His breath was knocked  
from his lungs and the ground suddenly decided to try and leap over his head. Something was pulling him in all different directions by little hooks, and it hurt so bad he wanted to  
scream, but he didn't have the breath to mange it.

And just like that it was over.

Gojyo's eyes opened with a snap. He was on his hands and knees, his right wrist held aloft by Kyomitsu. He could see Sanzo on the gods other side, not knocked to the  
ground, but close enough. The monk looked like his knees were about to give way and he had a expression of furious shock on his face that Gojyo knew was mirrored on his own.

"Just what the hell was th--" he began as he pushed himself to his feet. But what he saw made his voice stop somewhere in his throat.

They weren't out in the middle of nowhere any more. Hakkai, Goku and the others were not in sight. Instead they stood just within a massive wall. It towered over the  
three men, the top lost in strange multi-colored mist. The wall itself wrapped all the way around what could only be described as a large city, composed of the most elaborate  
buildings Gojyo had ever seen. There were colors every where, but even they were foreign. The red that washed most of the buildings was not red in the sense it should be.  
Instead its very essence seemed to penetrate to the core of his being so that Gojyo knew that this color was real and every thing he had seen up until now was just a sad imitation  
of the original. Where were plants all around, so that it looked like the city and the foliage had been designed around one another to create a perfectly fung shway environment, with equal parts ying and equal parts yang. Nothing had ever looked so beautiful, and so  
horrible at the same time. Nothing had ever looked to so much like a paradise and a  
prison.

"Welcome to Heaven. Now, let's find that antidote before some one find us," said Kyomitsu fervently.

* * *

So there you go! Sanzo and Gojyo are in Heaven, Hakkai and Goku are on Earth, along with the demons and the gods. Now, next time, Hakkai has to deal with a group of unhappy individuals, along with one very sick Goku. And there might be someone sinister on the way to visit them. 

I hope to get the next chapter out be the end of this month, beginning of this month at the latest! yell at me if you have to (but, not too meanly, ok?) please R&R, it'll motivate me

P.S. thank you Fujiwara Kumiko


	9. Chapter 9

So here's the next bit, and there's finally some action (just for you Angle Born of Darkness). Now, I have to admit that this was hard to write because I'm never sure if what I see in my head computes right on paper, so if the action isn't quite up to par I'm sorry. But I really tried to make it good. And on another note, I finished writing the last chapter so the updates will be faster.

* * *

Chapter #9

For a moment all Hakkai could do was stare in open-mouthed shock at the space Sanzo and Gojyo had vanished from. There had been absolutely no warning to their departure. No theatrical lights flashed, no thunder clapped, Kyomitsu hadn't even blinked. They had simply all been there one minute and the next they were not, end of story. A sharp look at the five solders still present showed that they were not in the least bit surprised, so the sudden vanishing must have been expected, possible even normal by their standards.

Kougaiji gave a derisive snort and turned his back on the solders. Hakkai knew it was supposed to be a snubbing act, a way for Kougaiji to let them know how much he hated them without braking decorum. If there was one thing about Kougaiji that Hakkai had to respect it was the fact that, no mater what, he always strived to behave in a manner befitting his rank. Out and out rudeness was reserved solely for Kyomitsu, not his men. The solders themselves did not seem to care in the least. They fanned out, forming a large circle around the group of mortals. Each scanned the area before them, watchful and ready should they be needed.

"He looks paler, doesn't he?" Yaone muttered softly. She knelt down to be at eye level with the boy, her boots crunching a small rock beneath their heal. Her blue eyes were filled with concern.

And she was right. Goku looked terrible. His skin, normally lighted with a healthy glow, was absolutely devoid of color, even his lips had taken on a pasty hue. His hair was mated to his forehead with perspiration and he was wheezing in short, shaky breaths. He seemed so small and frail laying there with his head in Hakkai's lap.

"Frail" was not normally a word associated with Goku. Naive, exuberant, fearless, energetic, powerful, but never frail. For the first time he actually looked like he might brake.

It made Hakkai's skin crawl.

"He does," conceded Hakkai sadly. Hakuryu fluttered onto his shoulder, rubbing his head supportively against his master's cheek with a soft coo.

Dokugokuji looked clinically down at Goku. Somehow, for some reason, Hakkia was rather glad the big man had stayed behind. He wasn't Gojyo by any means, but he was a comfort in his own right. Volatile responses were less his forte then the others at any rate, and he could be counted on to keep cool.

"I'm surprised by how calm the kid looks," Dokugokuji said carefully. "I wonder if they were wrong about this poison being painful." Her narrowed eyes flickered quizzically towards the gods surrounding them.

The poison heard his words.

Goku's body, limp as a rag doll up until that point, suddenly went stiff. His face crumpled in pain and his teeth clenched. A soft whimper escaped his pale lips before his back arched and a great spasm ran through him. Small limbs began to jerk and twitch in hash movements. An agonized scream escaped past clenched teeth as his head began to whip back and forth.

"Goku!" Hakkai cried. He clutched the boy tightly, so that his flailing limbs would not end up causing further injury.

The little medic was beside Hakkai and his charge in an instant. He reached out and clamped his hands down on the boy's still thrashing arms, but even he had difficulty stilling them. The Seiten Taisei within him raged, venting his anger through the strength of the boy's flailing.

"Hold him! If he snaps his neck there won't be any need for an antidote!" the god shouted with authority.

That was easier said then done. Goku flailed and twisted like a thing possessed. His head whipped about so violently that the god was forced to snap for Kougaiji to hold it still. The prince did so with out a word of protest, his strong hands holding the boy's skull still. Goku's scream grew louder, more ragged. Salty tears sliding down his cheeks.

Lirin clutched at Yaone, staring at the whole scene in numb shock. Part of Hakkai felt pity that she should have to see such a thing. For all her bravado she was still a child who had never witnessed her game of "get the scriptures" turn into something quite so real, and quite so terrible.

"Goku! Goku, you have to clam down! You have to breath!" cried Hakkia as his body was jerked along will the boy's spasms. Hakuryu took flight, hovering over Hakkai and Goku in a fearful manner.

A strange, bluish tinge had come over Goku's skin, a testament to his lack of air. He was going to kill himself if he didn't stop screaming long enough to breath.

"It's a fit! Just keep him still!" the medic commanded, electing complete compliance from the others.

It took a tense, terrifying ten minuets for Goku to calm down once more. Ten minuets, but to Hakkai it had felt like a life time. He hadn't been able to do a thing. Not one damn thing. Goku was now laying stiller then before, looking even more as if he was a worn out body…

Gojyo and Sanzo needed to hurry.

The gods had turned to watch the spectacle as it unfolded with varying digress of concern and interest. Hakkai found his eyes catching on one in particular; a tall burly man that toward over even Dokugokuji. The man had a frown on his immortal face as he looked down on Goku. He shifted his gaze to Hakkai and something passed through his eyes that made the man look away.

It had been a look of condolence. The god didn't think Goku would make it.

Some deep, unwanted part of Hakkai was beginning to fear he was right. In all the years he had been treating injuries he had never seen something like this particular poison. He had never _felt _something like this particular poison. It was like a living thing struggling to destroy everything. Just touching Goku was enough for Hakkai to feel a ghost of the poison's effects.

"That was the first of many," said the medic solemnly, forcing Hakkai to give his full attention.

"Is there any way to--" Kougaiji began, but the god cut him off.

"Stop the fits? No. The only thing we can do is make him as comfortable as possible," he said with resignation.

Hakkai whipped the tears from Goku's face. There had to be something they could do about this, something that could be done independently of the antidote. His inability to help was going to drive Hakkai crazy. A flash of sudden anger ran through him. When he found the gods that did this he'd kill them himself; immortality wouldn't stand in his way.

A strange whooshing noise echoed along the roadside. It was repeated over a dozen times, forcing Hakkai's concentration away from Goku and his vengeful musings. One after the other, solders were appearing, surrounding and far outnumbering the group already stationed around Goku. They looked exited and dangerous, their bloodlust a tangible thing. It made their eyes bright and their faces unpleasant. Hakkai knew in an instant that they were here for Goku, dead or alive.

"State your purpose!" the tall god that shared the look with Hakkai shouted.

A man stepped forward arrogantly. Hakkai recognized him right away. He was the man that shook Goku's hand after they were first attacked. The god looked very satisfied with himself.

All at once Goku's words from that day came back to him, hitting him like lightning. "_Gross. It was all slimy._" Slimy. The god's hand had been slimy, and the only one that _touched _him was Goku. The only one that was _sick _was Goku. That explained it! That explained how they had managed to poison Goku without anyone realizing it! The god had the poison on his glove and when Goku shook his hand the damage was done.

"We have come for the heretic," the prisoner replied.

Hakkai's grip on Goku's shoulders tightened. Fury was beginning to slowly froth and bubble within him.

That god was going to die.

"I see no heretic hear, Ginji. I believe you must have made a mistake," said Kyomitsu's solder calmly, but with a hint of menace in his voice. The other members of his squad were tense and focused.

Ginji smirked slightly, as if he was in on a private joke that the other god was ignorant of. His eyes flickered away for a moment, taking in the scene and all present. The smirk grew more pronounced when his eyes landed on the demons in their midst. When they found Hakkai they posed for a heart beat, and the man knew the god saw what awaited him in that gaze. He knew his death was coming. One thousand better men then him had seen that look and faced the truth in it.

Ginji looked away, back to the god he had been speaking to.

"The heretic is Son Goku. We have been ordered to kill him."

At these words Kyomitsu's man bristled slightly. The tall god's hand crept towards his sword. "Sadly, we have been order to keep him alive."

Ginji's smirk grew even more arrogant. "The orders come from above."

"My orders come from General Kyomitsu, and unless the Jade Emperor himself is willing to come and order me to stand aside I intend to carry out my mission." The absolute finality of the god's tone lent resolve to his squadron, all of whom drew their weapons with him.

Ginji shook his head. "Sizo, you are out numbered and out classed. Why throw away your life for a monster?"

Sizo stood perfectly straight, looking taller then he had even a moment ago. " We will defend Son Goku as we were ordered to. And I would advise you to be careful with your threats, killing is a taboo within Heaven."

Ginji's smirk turned into a feral smile. He spread his hands wide and looked around in mock-wonder. "Funny, we don't seem to be in Heaven at the moment."

Hakkai realized what the god was about to do seconds before it occurred. He threw his hands up, erecting a chi barrier around the group with barely a moment to spare. White hot power slammed into the barrier, hitting it with enough force to leave Hakkai winded with the effort it took to keep it maintained. Only vaguely did he realize the little dragon must have know what was going to happen as well, because he fled to higher altitudes before the attack occurred. Slowly the light died away, spots dancing across his vision in its aftermath.

"Defend Son Goku!" Sizo shouted, his voice booming out over the roadside.

Kyomitsu's men pounced, flinging themselves into the other solders without a second thought for the fact that they were fighting their fellow gods. Kougaiji glanced at Dokugokuji and Yaone, who nodded their understanding. As the two demons charged forward, fresh screams trailing in their wake, Yaone knelt down beside Hakkai.

"I'll watch over him," she said firmly, but with an unspoken understanding that made him want to hug her. She realized how deeply he needed to be a part of this fight, how deeply he needed to make that god pay.

"Thank you," he said softly, but earnestly. Yaone smile, but anything she might have said in reply was cut off by Lirin's jubilant cry of, "And if anyone comes near her I'll beat them to a pulp!"

Hakkai thanked her as well, glad she was on level footing again now that she had a task to complete. Confident that the two women would let nothing happen to Goku, or each other, he began his search for Ginji. Unfortunately the man was lost in the thick of the fight, and no matter where Hakkai looked he didn't see him. Despite his assurance in Yaone and Lirin's ability, he was still hesitant to stray too far away from them and their charge. There were too many gods fighting them to safely leave the immediate area of the three.

Something hot whistled past his face, sizzling a lock of his hair as it went.

Hakkai whipped around, falling into a defensive crouch. Standing before him were two of the renegade gods. They moved forward slowly, one with twin broadswords held at the ready, the other with chi crackling around his fingers like a miniature electrical storm. Hakkai allowed them to come within range before he struck. The swordsman swiped in an upward ark with his right hand while his left he made a quick jab. Hakkai spun out of the way of the jab, while ducking the swipe. The second god was expecting the move.

He blasted the electrical energy collected in his hands straight at Hakkai's midsection, forcing him to drop to the ground. But that had been Hakkai's intention all along. He dropped onto his back, his hands centimeters from his attackers chests'. He let loose the most intense chi blast possible, straight into the gods. Twin cries of surprise were sounded as they were thrown backwards, smoke coming off there cloths.

Hakkai leapt to his feet once more. He didn't intend on letting them regain their feet. Before they had even hit the ground he attacked again, this time signaling out the chi fighter. He sent a concentrated blast of power at the god and was pleased to hear yet another scream. Satisfied that he had incapacitated at least one threat, Hakkai turned his attention to the sword welder. There was blood on the man's brow and the area that Hakkai's attack had hit him in looked charred.

Good.

A scream that was entirely different from the others, and all to familiar, froze Hakkai. Goku sounded like he was being torn slowly apart.

Hakkai spun, startled by what he saw. The boy was writhing in agony once more, only now he was clawing at his scull as if it was the cause of all his pain, his mouth opened wide to let the terrible noise out. Yaone was not by his side, instead she was fending off the attacks of another of the rebel gods. There was a cut across her forehead that was leaking blood down her cheek, but she didn't seem to notice. She slashed viciously at the god before her with her staff. The blow caught him full in the face.

His scream was added to Goku's.

Lirin lunged forward, grabbing Goku and using the momentum of her dive to roll them both end over end. Seconds later the ground he had laid on exploded. She sprang back to her feat, hissing at the three gods slowly closing in. Goku continued to scream.

Fire engulfed the three gods threatening Lirin. It roared with an otherworldly life, courtesy of Kougaiji's summoning.

The prince glared at the gods as they twisted in pain, furious that they had tried to harm his sister.

Something collided with Hakkai's back, knocking him off his feet and sending him sliding along the ground. He cursed internally at his own stupidity; he should have know better then to take his eyes off the god he was fighting. He now had a gash in his side to remind him of the need for constant vigilance (1) during battle.

But Goku was still screaming, the sound now punctuated by sobs.

"What's wrong with him! Why is he ding that!?" Lirin cried in panic.

Hakkai grit his teeth and pushed himself to his feet. Goku was beginning to shred the skin on his face in his attempt to get at what ever was hurting him. His fingers were digging into his cheek, drawing blood despite all Lirin's attempts to stop him. Even sitting on his chest and prying with all her considerable strength could not stop him, it instead ended up with the girl being bucked half a yard as Goku began thrashing again.

"You should pay more attention to me, not the kid. I'm the one that's going to cut your head off and he's dead anyway," the sword welder chided.

Hakkai turned back to the god, his eyes dark. "You're going to find killing me much harder then you think, and killing Goku impossible," he growled in a low voice.

Movement caught his eye. Slowly the second god Hakkai had attacked rose to his feat. He gave the man a nasty grin before electricity began to crackle around his hands once more.

He didn't look particularly hurt now.

"Something's really wrong with Goku!" Yaone's voice carried clearly. Hakkai could almost see her face crumpling with fear.

"The poison is working through his system faster then I expected. This is unprecedented, it shouldn't be doing this! At this rate he won't last past the hour!" And that tore Hakkai's attention away from the predatory gods altogether, whether it was a stupid thing to do or not.

The little medic had somehow found his way back to Goku, looking no worse for the wear despite the battle. His was pale as he stared down at the boy's bloody face. There was a small trail of saliva leaking from the corner of Goku's mouth, his eyes were open but sightless and he continued to claw at himself. The medic's eyes flickered to the golden diadem encircling the boy's head, and them away quickly. They cought Hakkai's.

It was all he needed in order to know what the god was thinking, to know what Goku's last chance would be. They didn't have time for Sanzo and Gojyo any more, not with the way things were progressing, and certainly not with the gods attacking them. Hakkai gave a small nod, watching as the god's hands closed around the diadem and jerk upwards.

An eerie silence followed the motion. Hakkai closed his eyes and for the first time ever he prayed. He prayed that he had made the right choice, because if he hadn't they were all dead.

* * *

So, there was a tribute to Mad Eye Moody from Harry Potter it there because I wrote this after finishing the last book. Fore anyone not into Harry Potter, don't worry it wasn't important to the story at all that you cote that. Anyway, things seem to be going down hill for Goku and the others. Next chapter we fid out why all of these gods are trying to kill Goku and we get another look at Heaven. 


	10. Chapter 10

Do you guys have any idea how cool you are? Seriously, thank you for the reviews, they really make it worth while to write this. We're back with Sanzo for this chapter. I hope I kept him in character, he's gotten surprisingly hard to write now that he's in Heaven.

* * *

Chapter 10

Sanzo stuck close to the others, not because he was nervous about being in Heaven but because he didn't want anyone to be separated. If they were separated it would only make the trip longer, which would result in Goku getting sicker. And then he would have to kill someone. So, logically, the best course of action would be to stick together and forgo the whole killing necessity.

For some unknown reason Gojyo seemed to be of a similar thought process. Amazing as it was to imagine the stupid kappa having thought of any sort, it did make things easier when he cooperated. But what really interested Sanzo was how deserted the whole of Heaven seemed to be. So far they had passed through an elaborate garden and into a large building, sneaking down winding halls for all the world to see, but had come across no one. Which was just odd. As much as Sanzo hated to admit it, the lack of life was setting him on edge.

They needed to grab the damn antidote and get the hell out of here.

As if that wasn't enough of a distraction Sanzo found himself nearly over powered by feelings of deja vu. It was as if he had been down this particular hall before. There was even a dent in the wall that looked familiar. It was just about waist high and the size of a small fist, undoubtedly made by a child. How Sanzo could be sure about that he had no idea, but that didn't change the fact that he was.

Kyomitsu was no help either. Sanzo was willing to bet the whole of Gojyo's cigarettes that the god was leading them down this particular hall on purpose. Why else would he stop at random intervals in a way that made it oh so convenient for Sanzo to get lost in memories he didn't remember enough to understand?

"We need to get to the store room. It's in the center of the complex, closest to the Emperor. If we're lucky we should be able to get there and back without anyone spotting us, most people aren't going to be loitering in the area," said Kyomitsu, a note of tension in his voice.

He was most definitely not pleased with leading two mortals around the halls of Heaven, but at least he was sticking to his word. As of yet there had been no sign of deviousness in his actions, for which Sanzo was grateful. It would make life a hell of a lot more annoying if he had to fight his way out of Heaven, guns blazing. He had the feeling someone would notice if he killed a god while in here, after all.

"How far is it to the store room? How long is this field trip going to take?" Gojyo demanded. His eyes had yet to stop darting around the hallway, a look of unsettled fascination on his face.

Kyomitsu glanced back at the half breed and answered, "It shouldn't take longer then fifteen minuets, if no one shows up."

"Walk faster, we don't have fifteen minuets to spare," commanded Sanzo. Goku needed the antidote, and he needed it _now_, not whenever this god got around to getting it to him.

"General Kyomitsu? I didn't know you had retuned so soon," a demure voice sounded from behind Sanzo.

For a moment all three froze. Shit. _Shit_. A hart beat later Kyomitsu spun around, smiling pleasantly at their discoverer. It was a women, older then Sanzo, but still rather young. She was dressed plainly for a god, and in her arms she held a basket of laundry. If Sanzo had to hazard a guess he would say she was some sort of maid.

"Actually, I'm only back for a brief moment. I required the assistance of Masters Itachi and Shin. Their expertise will be invaluable to my efforts, and to the effort of the Emperor," Kyomitsu said in a tone that suggested he was telling the women something very important. He gestured towards Sanzo and Gojyo at the mention of the "Masters", attempting to pass them off as gods.

The maid's eyes moved from the general to Sanzo, looking in wonder at his bright gold hair. He felt a stab of irritation pass through him. Not for the first time he wished his hair was a less…lustrous color. Black, brown, hell even a shit-yellow would do, just something to make him less noticeable.

The maid gave a respectful bow, murmuring words of deference that meant nothing to either of them. Kyomitsu moved closer to her, speaking in a low, conspiritive tone. "It is of the utmost importance that you say nothing about this. If the information was to leak out to the wrong person by some mistake my entire operation would be jeopardized. If that happened the Emperor himself will feel the inevitable need to investigate just where the leak originated."

He gave the women a meaningful look here, at which point she gave a small gulp of unease.

"Can I count on you to uphold the Emperor's wishes?" continued Kyomitsu in a very pointed and vaguely threatening manner.

The maid's eyes flickered back to Sanzo, who felt his own narrow reflexively at her in response. She nodded emphatically.

"Good," concluded Kyomitsu briskly. "Be on your way then."

The women scrambled back down the hall as quickly as dignity would allow her. Silence was left in her wake.

"Fifteen minuets?" Sanzo questions, an eye brow raised challengingly.

Kyomitsu looked grim. "How about we aim for ten?" he asked before he tuned and began to practically run down the hall.

Gojyo grinned slightly at Sanzo, something near appreciation in his look before he hurried after the god.

They raced down corridor after corridor, an unspoken anxiety fueling their flight. Would the maid say silent? How long would they have before someone was sent after them if she didn't keep her promise? More importantly still, how long did Goku have before it was too late?

And then, as if summand by there collective concern, "Stop! Intruders! STOP!"

For one brief moment every one froze. Three pairs of eyes glanced at each other, then down the hall, which was intersected by another passage way, making it a four way intersection.

"They can't see that it's me!" Kyomitsu hissed.

"Then lets haul ass!" shouted Gojyo loudly.

Without any hesitation they shot down the hallway, the clang of booted feet chasing after them. Sanzo was not a particularly slow runner, but he was at a considerable disadvantage at the moment. No mater how one looked at it, a god and a half-demon were going to be faster runners then a mere human. He watched as his companions began to pull away from him, reaching the first junction in the hall way and darting to the right.

Unfortunately for Sanzo another group of guards suddenly appeared at the end of the hall way, too close to the corner the others had turned down for him to follow. With a curse Sanzo cut to the left, running down a different hallway. He searched quickly, spying a door off to the right. He raced through it, turning and slamming the door shut behind him. A small key set in the lock. He turned it just in time to hear the tell-tale thud of the guards slamming into the wood.

Sanzo breathed a sigh of relief, watching the door for a moment longer then was strictly necessary. As long as the gods were on the other side everything would be fine. He didn't particularly care if they wanted a fight, but at the moment he had a hell of a lot of other things he needed to deal with.

Satisfied that the door would hold for at lest a little while, Sanzo turned to take in the room he had escaped into. It was large, with what appeared to be marble flooring and a voluminous ceiling. Four pillars made of the same marble as the floor were placed at each corner of the room, supporting the sealing. Squares of gold glittered along the floor, leading to an ornate chair set along the wall to Sanzo's right.

It took Sanzo a moment to realize there was some one sitting in the chair.

He grew very still, watching the seated figure. It didn't move, but there was no way that his presence could have gone unnoticed. Not when he slammed the door closed as hard as he had. Slowly he moved forward, his eyes narrowed and his hand wrapped around his gun. He wasn't nervous, just slightly unsettled by the god's lack of movement. Experience up until now had lead him to believe gods tended to attack first and try for subtly later.

He stepped boldly out into the room, so that there was no way the god could miss him, and so that he would have a clear shot if need be. Now that he didn't have a pillar blocking his view Sanzo could see that this particular god didn't look very old. In fact, he looked about the equivalent of an adolescent. His hands where small and the fancy robes wrapped around him were a fraction too large. Long strands of hair fell into his expressionless face while his eyes stared unseeingly down at the ground just beyond Sanzo's feet.

The monk raised an eye brow. Was the kid pretending not to notice him? What this some warped version of 'I don't see him, so he doesn't see me' that children sometimes played? Somehow Sanzo didn't think anyone could fake the boy's vacant expression. He moved forward slowly, gun still at the ready. Close inspection of the young god brought with it a vague recollection that tugged at the back of his mind. There was something important about this boy, but Sanzo could not put his finger on what. Who was this child? Why did he suddenly feel as if he was staring into the empty face of destiny?

"He hasn't changed much, has he?" a soft voice commented.

Sanzo turned slowly, feigning utter calm. He wasn't frightened in the least; he was pissed. He had already gotten separated from the others; he didn't have time to deal with gods. And yet, here was another one. This one was unpleasant in more then just expression, although that was foul as well. He exuded an air of arrogance and menace that had Sanzo itching to shoot him and do the world a favor.

The god walked calmly across the room, staring at Sanzo as if he was looking at a ghost. He was tall and stately, but otherwise unremarkable.

"I can't believe you came back Konzen."

Sanzo raised an eye brow. "My name isn't 'Konzen' and I'm willing to bet you already know that," he said coldly.

For some reason Sanzo didn't want this man too close to the unmoving boy. There was an air about him that seemed almost viral, and god or not, no child should have to interact with that.

"You can't seriously expect me to call you '_Sanzo_'. I will not demean myself and refer to you in such a mortal way, even if you are one of _them_. Have some pride," the god hissed.

"Then I don't think we have anything to say to each other," the monk replied calmly, pleased by the look of dark anger on the gods face.

The god moved until he was directly in front of Sanzo, who stood before the boy. Immortal eyes flashed with fury. "Do you know who I am?" he demanded.

"I don't make it a habit to remember annoying people," Sanzo replied easily.

The god looked murderous. "I am Lee Taing, counsel to the Jade Emperor, and higher in class now then you ever were," he hissed.

Sanzo shrugged. "Good for you."

That was not the response Lee Taing had been aiming for, if his incredulous expression was anything to judge by. His pale cheeks flushed with rage as he regarded Sanzo contemptuously.

"You haven't changed, you're just as arrogant as always. I suppose you think that now you're back the Emperor will welcome you with open arms, that he'll value you as anything more then the human heretic that you are?" Lee Taing asked venomously. He seemed to derive a strange pleasure from saying such things, as if the suspicions he voiced had troubled him for some time without being spoken of.

Sanzo had no idea what the god was talking about, and frankly he didn't care. He was on a delicate time table and stopping to chat with someone that decided to spout a bunch of bull was a waste of that time. He began to say as much, but Lee Taing cut him off. With a look of supreme satisfaction the god continued his verbal onslaught.

"Unfortunately for you, Konzen, I did not get were I am today by letting peons usurp my position. You're nothing without that monster to hide behind, and he won't be around for much longer."

The words had barely left the god's lips before Sanzo was reacting. There could be no doubt about what Lee Taing meant. The mere prospect of what he was implying was enough to make all pretense of civility flee to some frightened corner of the room. His hand closed around the god's throat and he used it to pull Lee Taing forward and down. The Smith & Wesson found it's place between the god's eyes as if by magic.

" It was you, wasn't it? You're the reason Goku was poisoned," he hissed in fury.

"NO!" shouted Lee Taing viciously. "No! Everything and anything I have don has been because of you! You and that disgusting monster! The both of you sticking you noses where they don't belong, trying to weasel you way closer to the Emperor! Everything is because of you!"

Sanzo fired without any hesitation. While the resulting crack of the gun was satisfying initially, it did not reach the ends he had been hoping for. What ever force kept the bullets from harming a god seemed to be in greater strength here, stopping his bullet before it had even fully left the chamber of the gun. The backlash of pressure jerked Sanzo's hand away from the god's face and neck, making them both stumble backward slightly.

The bullet rolled out of the gun and onto the floor with a sad thump.

Lee Taing looked momentarily surprised that Sanzo had actually tried to shoot him, before an expression of undisguised loathing twisted his features. But Sanzo was more concerned with something else, something the god had said. "Everything" he had done implied there was more treachery that could be traced back to this man then simply Goku's plight.

"What the hell do you mean, 'everything'?" the monk demanded in a low tone, his eyes narrowed.

Lee Taing smile unpleasantly. "Afraid, Konzen? Of what your medaling has brought?" As he spoke Lee Taing's eyes flickered to the young god in the chair, then quickly away.

Sanzo felt himself go cold with hate.

It wasn't just Goku that this man had set his devious sights on.

"Do you enjoy hurting kids?" he questions quietly.

Sanzo had been told that some people became blinded by their anger. He'd even seen it happen to Gojyo, seen the half-bread's eyes slide out of focus as he rampaged. But it never happened to him. When Sanzo got angry, truly angry, his vision sharpened. He saw everything in an instant, every last thing that made him want to kill some one. He saw it all now, from the unremorseful glint in Lee Taing's eyes to the uneven length of his arms, and they all begged him to take action.

Lee Taing said nothing. He simply watched Sanzo closely, waiting for the moment the gun became a danger once more.

"Do you, you prick? Do you even care that he's a kid?" Sanzo growled, gesturing viciously towards the silent god.

Lee Taing scoffed. "You don't care about him. You never cared about anyone but yourself, even the monster was only tolerated because he could get you power."

Sanzo gave his head a small shake, his expression grim. "You don't know me, not now, not ever." He took a sep forward, watching with satisfaction as Lee Taing took one step back. "Why this kid? Who is he? What the hell did he ever do to you?"

Somehow Sanzo found that he needed to know. He was going to kill Lee Taing, but before he did he had to understand why innocent kids were being targeted. He could surmise that the god felt that Goku would be a threat to what ever power he held, even if he didn't know where that notion had come from. But he knew nothing about this other boy, nothing about why he might have warranted this treatment.

Lee Taing stood straighter. Slowly he turned his head to look at the god-child. His lip curled back in disgust.

"His name is Nataku, and once upon a time he was the God of War."

Sanzo gave a small start at this. He found himself staring at the boy as well, intrigued despite himself. Homura had mentioned a Nataku once, in passing. Could this child be the warrior that the deceased deity had replaced, the one they wanted Goku to replace now?

"Ah, I see that rang a bell," Lee Taing goaded. " It should. He worked for me, did what ever I wanted because his father did what ever I wanted. It worked out perfectly for hundreds of years. I was gaining prestige and he was doing his job the way an obedient heretic should. And then that damn monkey appeared one day, and started filling his head with lies. The monkey that belonged to you, he was tolerated because of you! Nataku started listening to him, instead of his father, instead of me, and everything the monster said came from you!"

Lee Taing looked furious now as he relayed the events of the past back to Sanzo. For the first time he found himself actually wondering if Homura and Kyomitsu had been telling the truth. Had he really been a god? Had the others? And if the rumors of his past divinity were true was Lee Taing painting even a remotely accurate picture of what he was like? More importantly still, did any of the god's ramblings result in Goku's five hundred year imprisonment?

"I tried to have the monster killed, I was even willing to let the boy do it and redeem himself. But he didn't. Instead he botched the whole thing up and ended up killing his own father before turning his blade on himself. The idiot couldn't face what he had done. And then you and the two traitors that followed you killed yourselves defending a murderous monster and then left that monster here!" said Lee Taing coldly. "The only good thing was that you had left me with a black slate to build on."

"But you still poisoned the kid. Why? He was no threat to you," Sanzo demanded. With a supreme effort he tore his eyes away from Nataku's face. Lee Taing still did not look remorseful. If anything, he looked like he was satisfied with what he had don.

"As long as he stays like this he isn't," the god corrected.

"I don't think he's going to be staying like this for much longer," said someone casually.

Both Sanzo and Lee Taing spun to face the newcomer. It was a women strolling across the room from the direction of the locked door. She was tall, with long hair, rings of golden jewelry adorning her body. She was dressed in ridiculous translucent cloth that bared her for all to see. But Sanzo noticed none of this. Instead he saw the women's eyes, slanted slightly downwards like his own and colored an identical shade. And he saw a nose that mirrored his own set in a face that would have been his had it not been so delicate, and had the hair been blond rather then black.

Who the hell was she?

Lee Taing paled considerably. The women's presence had obviously not been expected or even wanted. She seemed to sense this as well, and smiled in a way that didn't reach her eyes. They remained cold.

"Lee, I hope you realize that you have committed far worse then a taboo. You stole that poison from the Emperor's store room. You abused you privileges and miss- represented the Emperor. You damaged the Emperor's disciple. You are going to have to pay for this," she said conversationally.

Lee Taing began retreating slowly, eyeing the women like a cornered rat. "You can't prove anything, Kanzeon Bosatsu, nothing at all."

At this her eyes gave a feral glint. "Oh, but I heard your confession. So did my nephew. I'm sure the Emperor will be satisfied with our accounts. He never liked you much anyway," she assured.

Sanzo raised an eye brow. Nephew? The women was obviously misinformed. He didn't know who she thought he was, but at the moment it didn't mater. One look at her face was enough to know without a doubt that she too wanted to kill the god before him. Some deep part of Sanzo was very pleased with the terror that was rising in Lee Taing's eyes. A vindictive, even cruel streak ran threw Sanzo, and it very rarely found an outlet.

Under normal circumstances there was an idiot monkey quilting it into suppression without even trying.

But that monkey was on Earth, dying slowly, because of this god.

Mercy had no place in the monk at the moment.

Lee Taing ran.

Sanzo barely had time to register the fact that the man was sprinting across the room before the women reacted. She moved more quickly then anything Sanzo had ever seen before, more quickly then even Goku when his diadem was removed. And she struck with a force that would have killed a human on impact. As it was, Lee Taing gave a strangled cry more reminiscent of an animal then anything else. He struggled futilely to brake the grip of the hands constricted around his neck, but it was no use.

Kanzeon Bosatsu lifted the man into the air, her face moving closer to his. "Lee, I have watched you for five hundred years. I've seen what your care has done to Nataku, what it did to my _family_, and I don't appreciate it."

Despite the fact that Kanzeon was speaking calmly and evenly there was a fury in her voice that rivaled Sanzo's own. Her sharp finger nails dug into Lee Taing's skin, drawing blood.

"You-you can't k-kill me …taboo!" the god cried, still struggling to brake free.

A withering look crossed the goddess's face. "I don't intend to be the one that kills you. After everything you have done, only Konzen could deserve that honor," she informed her prisoner.

She turned her head just enough to stair at Sanzo out of the corner of her eye. She looked fierce and cool, her very expression speaking of her hate for Lee Taing. Some how Sanzo had the feeling his face mirrored her look. But there was still one more thing he needed before he could kill Lee Taing.

"The antidote. Where is it?" he demanded.

Lee Taing tried to grin, but the look was warped by his swelling face. "There is no antidote," he wheezed.

Two pairs of amethyst eyes narrowed. With a calm born of murderous anger Sanzo began to recite the words drilled into him years ago. The _Maten Sutra_

began to pull with a hart of its own. Slowly, light was drawn to its ancient writing as it unfurled from across the monk's shoulders. Streams of the Sutra began to snake closer and closer to the two struggling gods. He watched as one stream seemed to prod at Kanzeon Bosatsu before jerking away like a frightened thing and sneaking instead towards Lee Taing.

The god didn't look frightened as the Sutra came closer to him. His eyes darted towards the goddess before turning back to the advancing danger. It wasn't until the sutra had wrapped itself around him like a spider cocooning it's pray that he gave any indication of fear. Lee Taing screamed as smoke began to curl up from his burning flesh. Kanzeon released him, throwing the taller god back a step in pure disgust.

"Unfortunately, that won't kill him either. Although, it probably hurts more then anything else you could have don to him," the goddess admitted with a note of disappointment.

Sanzo considered ignoring her and chanting until he killed Lee Taing out of shear force of will, but decided against it when his eyes found the unresponsive boy once again. Goku still needed him.

"If this won't kill the bastard what will?" he demanded.

Kanzeon raised an eye brow as the sutra snaked back to it's master. Lee Taing fell to the ground with a whimper of pain.

"The Emperor will imprison him, the way he did Goku," she said.

Sanzo glared at her in disgust. "We all saw how effective that is."

Kanzeon's lips corked up into a mischievous but grim smile. "It will be much more effective now that I have no interest in interfering," she said calmly.

"Merciful Goddess? Genjo Sanzo? What's going on here?!"

As one Sanzo and Kanzeon turned to face the new comers. How the hell were all these people getting into the room? And what happened to the guards outside?

Gojyo and Kyomitsu stood in the center of the room, closer to the side of the room Lee Taing had come in from. The half breed took in the whole room at a glance, cringing slightly when he saw Kanzeon. He too found the god-child griping, stepping hesitantly forward as if to see if the boy was real. Gojyo cursed in wonder as he stared at Nataku.

"I know him," Gojyo whispered.

Kyomitsu ignored him altogether. Instead he stared down at the writhing Lee Taing in a mixture of horror and fascination. "You burnt him? How the hell did you burn him?"

"Is there a problem general?" Kanzeon asked.

Kyomitsu looked pale. For a moment he refused to make eye contact with the goddess. He took a visible moment to collect his thoughts before speaking. "There…maybe, Merciful Goddess. Was there a reason for…this?" he asked, gesturing towards Lee Taing.

"It seems that Lee Taing has been poisoning Crown Prince Nataku. He even attempted to assassinate The Grate Sage. I believe that constitutes treason, don't you?" the goddess asked calmly.

Kyomitsu looked like he had been hit in the gut by a rampaging buffalo. His mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water for a moment before he managed to get anything out of his mouth.

"Treason? He's the one that--"

"Poisoned Goku. Fucking asshole," hissed Gojyo angrily, punctuating his response with a hard kick to Lee Taing's ribs.

"Did you find the antidote?" Sanzo demanded, refusing to believe Lee Taing's insistence that there wasn't one.

Kyomitsu didn't seem to have heard him. He continued to stair between Konzion and Lee Taing. Gojyo, on the other hand, heard him just fine. He whipped around, pulling a vial of clear liquid out of his pocket. He brandished it proudly.

"Yeah, while you went and got yourself lost we were actually doing something productive," he said smugly.

Sanzo raised an eye brow. "You're carrying it?" he asked scathingly.

Indignation flashed across Gojyo's face. "What the hell does that mean?" he demanded.

Before Sanzo could answer Kanzeon stepped forward. She flashed Gojyo a smile that had him paling and taking an involuntary step backwards. His hand flew up to his mouth, covering it defensively for no reason Sanzo could fathom.

"I think it's time to go boys," she said calmly. Her eyes shifted away from the two mortals and onto Kyomitsu. "Take them back to Earth, I'll handle things here."

Kyomitsu gave a sharp nod before practically lunging forward and grabbing their wrists. Sanzo had the fleeting impression that Kyomitsu wanted to get the hell away from Kanzeon Bosatsu before anything else happened.

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Feel free to let me know what you thought about this. I'm sorry if there were any mistakes, I tried to catch them all. Sanzo's conversation with Lee Taing was difficult. I didn't want Lee to come off as crazy, I wanted it to seem like he understood exactly what he was dong and just didn't care because I think that's more evil in the long run. Next time; Goku as a very unhappy "Grate Sage" with a bone to pick... 


	11. Chapter 11

So, we are coming to the end every one! This is the second to last chapter, and it's got a good chunk of it told from Goku's pov. I thought about it for a while and decided he would refer to himself as "The Grate Sage" rather then "The Seiten Taisei ". My reason for this is because that is how Kyomitsu has been referring to him, and that is how he is referred to in the original _Journey to the West_ book. And also, because I like it more:) There are some notes threw out the chapter on things that I think I needed to explain a bit more, but couldn't in the story with out it sounding forced.

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**Chapter 11**

There was pain everywhere. His body as on fire, screaming out in agony. It felt as if he was being eaten from the inside out and his mind was on the verge of shattering from the onslaught. Someone was screaming and he thought it just might have been him.

_Make it stop!_

The reprieve came a once. Something soft and warm drifted up from the ground he was lying upon, seeping into his skin. Almost instantly the pain began to fade, dulled by the spirits the earth had provided him with. He found that thinking was no longer beyond his ability and he used the opportunity to take stock of his situation.

There was an odd, unpleasant smell clinging to him. It brought with it the memory of decay and death. No matter how hard he tried to find his own scent he couldn't find it. How had this happened? He remembered faces, but only faintly, the way one remembered a dream from years ago. And with the faces came the certainty that someone had made him hurt on purpose. Someone had tried to kill him.

Someone was going to die.

The Great Sage's eyes snapped open. He found a small, smelly god staring down at him. The creature looked nervous, but his scent betrayed his true feelings. He was _terrified_. The Great Sage felt his lips curl back into a feral smile. The gods should fear him, their last encounter had been less then amusing and he remembered it well.

But the little god smelt like someone else, someone important. The Great Sage pounced on him, slamming divine shoulders to the ground and bringing his nose closer to the man to get a better whiff of the elusive scent. A squeak of surprise came from the god, but he ignored it. The sent was one he recognized; it was the scent of the Sun.

That was unexpected, his Sun didn't generally associate with gods. The last time he had the god had died. But this god was perfectly fine. Did that mean that the god and the Sun were friends? Would killing the creature be a bad thing?

Movement caught the Great Sage's eyes. The group of men that surrounded him had all drawn closer. Some were familiar, like the not-human, not-demon with the one eye, and the actual demons that were with him. They had played before and the game had been rather fun while it lasted. His Sun had ended the play early.

But the rest were gods. He didn't like gods.

A breeze ruffled his hair, lifting it off of his shoulders and letting it drift around his face. It also brought with it the scent of death, the same scent that clung to him like a new skin.

"Goku, please, don't hurt him… He's a friend," the not-human, not-demon said carefully. He was moving forward slowly, his hands held out for the Great Sage to see, his concern for the god was almost palpable.

But the Great Sage ignored him. He knew where the scent of death was coming from.

One of the gods lunged forward, thrusting his twin swords at the not-human, not-demon's back. The Great Sage shot forward, kicking off of the small god's stomach. He saw green eyes widen as he landed upon the ground before the one eyed man. He reached out, grabbing the one eyed man's strange shirt and used it to throw him over his shoulder and out of the reach of the swords.

His Sun would be mad if the one eyed man died. Playing was one thing, if one-eye lost the game the Sun would understand, but if he was _killed _the Sun would get angry.

The stupid god looked slightly surprised by the loss of his playmate, but the Great Sage was willing to fix that. He danced forward, slipping past the twin swords. With one fluid motion he slammed his fist into the god's face. The creature stumbled backwards, gagging on the blood that leaked out of his nose and mouth. The Great Sage laughed. If there was one thing to like gods for it was their durability. If he had hit any one else that hard, even the demon with fire colored hair, they would have died instantly.

Something sizzling raced towards him. The Great Sage gave an amazed laugh as he caught the chi attack. They wanted to play! His eyes fell onto a shocked god, who's hand was still smoking with the force of his blow. One swift motion sent the chi back towards it's sender. But it wouldn't be a game if the god got back exactly what he had given. No, instead the Grate Sage gave him something even better, with far more kick to it. The stupid god didn't even try to get out of the way of the attack, he just stood there looking shocked as the blast hit him.

The stupid immortal screamed, blood gushing from the hole in his chest as he fell over backwards. The Great Sage laughed. That was fun, he was down one playmate, but it was still fun. Unfortunately these creatures were a distraction. He needed to find the source of the smell. Peripherally he noted the demon with the fire hair pulling his sister closer to his chest and away from danger. (1) That was fine, the Great Sage didn't want to play any more.

He wanted to find the source of the scent.

Kougaiji's first instinct was to freeze. Goku with out his limiter was a monster, there was no other way to describe him. But first instincts were not always the best. His sister had not moved from her place between where the shocked Hakkai had landed and the boy-turned-monster now stood. She was watching Goku with wide, almost fascinated eyes.

Lirin had never seen Goku like this before, she didn't know how caprices his attention became, or how violent his fun could be. And she was altogether too close to him for Kougaiji's comfort.

Goku seemed to fly forward, barreling into the gods before him. The demon prince used the movement to make his way to his sister. Lirin jumped when his hand closed around her wrist. For a second he thought she might scream, which would have been a disaster. Loud noised would attract Goku.

"Oni-chan?" gasped Lirin, allowing herself to be pulled further away from the mailei. "Oni-chan, what's wrong with him?"

"I don't really know," Kougaiji admitted distractedly. It was true, he had no idea why Goku turned into a rampaging monster without that damn diadem on his head, or how Sanzo always got him to turn back into the playful idiot the prince had become accustom to.

But this time something was different with Goku, something aside from the bloodlust. He attached the gods mercilessly, except for the ones that Kyomitsu had left to protect him. He certainly pummeled _them _as well, Sizo was spiting out a tooth from an unavoidable punch even as Goku turned his back on the big guard and ripped an arm clean off different one. But he stopped just short of fatally wounding any of them. Somehow Goku could tell who was an ally and who was an enemy. He knew, and chose his playthings accordingly. He didn't actively seek the gods that had tried to defend him, but when one got to close he attacked, like they were a string dangled too close for a cat to resist.

But he had saved Hakkai as well, and the last time Kougaiji had seen this side of Goku he had tried to kill the man. So what the hell was going on?

Goku gave a howl and doubled over. His clawed hands clutched at his stomach as he began to convulse. The poison must have burnt away what reserves of life force he had stored up. Hakkia began to run forward, but Dokugokuji's hand darted out, grabbing the human by his upper arm. There was a look on his face that Kougaiji knew well. Something had unnerved the steady demon, and he was doing his best to keep every one together and out of trouble. Yaone stood behind him, looking anxious.

"Don't. Stay away from him," the swordsman commanded.

Hakkai turned his eyes away from the suffering boy and the gods hesitantly creeping closer to him in order to look at Dokugokuji. There was such a vicious, dangerous air in his frown and narrowed eyes that for a moment Kougaiji thought Dokugokuji would let him go.

"Release my arm. Goku needs--"

"Shit!" shouted Dokugokuji, taking a step backwards and dragging Hakkai with him.

The reason why became apparent instantly. One of the particularly brave, or particularly foolish, gods chose that moment to attack Goku, and it was the last thing he ever did. Something tore into the god when he came within Goku's immediate space. The god screamed in agony, jerking and twitching, before he seemed to disintegrate from the inside out. He left nothing but a wisp of transparent energy behind him. That energy drifted into Goku s as he continued his animalistic cries.

The ground began to shake, small cracks dancing out and away from the boy. Smoke drifted from the earth and curled around Goku, settling on his exposed skin and seeping threw his flesh.

It took a moment for Kougaiji to realize that it was not smoke, but rather _spirits_, that were incasing the boy. Goku was a creature born of the earth, and the earth itself had come to his rescue, supplying him with the chi needed to stave off the effects of the poison.(2)

Someone laughed. Ginji pushed through the crowd of gods to stare down at Goku triumphantly. "See! Do you see Sizo! You said he was not a monster, not a heretic! He kills without thought, and now I will kill him. I'll put this disgusting monster out of his misery."

Kyomitsu's men backed away slowly, a signal from Sizo telling them all to get as far from Goku and Ginji as they could. None needed any further prodding.

But Ginji did not seem to see the danger he was putting himself in. He didn't seem in the least bit perturbed by the fate that had met the last god that got too close to Goku. The boy raised his head up from the ground, where he seemed momentarily enraptured with the dirt beneath him. Golden eyes narrowed into predatory slits as they fell on the god.

Kougaiji took another step back, forcing Lirin behind him.

Something very bad was about to happen.

And it did. Dark clouds rolled across the sky, far to quickly to possibly be natural. Wind began to stir the air in the small clearing. He had no doubt what was going on now. Goku was furious, and the earth responded in kind. But still, Ginji didn't seem to realize how serious the situation was.

"Growl and rage all you want, monkey, it won't save you," the god said confidently.(3)

He flicked his wrist, signaling three of his men forward. It was a testament to their training that they only hesitated for a moment before charging Goku, who still sat on the ground clutching his stomach.

The attack was fast as lightning. Goku sprang up, a snarl curling back his lips. He met the three gods head on, sinking his claws into the closest and using the man like a club to force the others away. Bones broke and skin ripped as the three fell to the ground. They let out agonized screams as their bodies began to disintegrate from the inside out. They too became noting but chi, and that too became Goku's.

Ginji's remaining men began to back away. Kougaiji felt Lirin's hands curl into his vest tightly. He understood perfectly how she felt; he was terrified as well. And Goku was merciless. The eerie wind that had risen in response to his anger suddenly seemed like a living, tangible force. It slammed into Ginji's men, knocking them all to the ground where they writhed and twisted in agony. They met the same fate as their fellows.

Kyomitsu's men looked white with fear as they fell in line beside the prince and the others.

Ginji now stood alone before Goku. He finally seemed to understand what he had gotten himself into now as he stared in horror at the ever advancing boy. Goku's lips curled back into the most terrible grin Kougaiji had ever seen. It lingered for only a moment before the boy pounced.

He struck Ginji hard in the chest, tackling the taller man to the ground. Once there he began to slash at the god, using his long claws to shred Ginji's face, neck and chest. The god struggled and screamed, but there was no hope for him. Each slash burned and turned to ash, and no mater how sturdy an immortal was it was impossible to heal after the enraged child's onslaught.

Kougaiji had to look away. Even for him, the sight was too gruesome to watch. Lirin looked like she might be sick as the screaming turned into wet, gurgling cries. Her eyes were impossibly wide as she stared up at her brother, seeking comfort in the only place she could. Hakkai, on the other hand, seemed unable to tear his eyes from the scene. Distantly Kougaiji wondered how the human could stand to watch the boy kill the god so brutally. How did he manage to marry the image of the Goku he had come to know with the one he was seeing now?

The screaming stopped. Kougaiji forced himself to look back at Goku once more. He had to know what the boy was doing. Who would he come after next now that Ginji and his rouge gods were gone? If Goku attacked them, if he tried to hurt Lirin or Yaone or even Dokugokuji, who was more then capable of handling himself, Kougaiji would kill him. Sad as it would make him to have to do such a thing the prince would not let anything happen to his family. Not again.(4)

Goku stood up slowly and took a step away from his victim. He allowed his head to loll backwards so that he could watch them out of the corner of his eyes. Blood dripped off his knuckles. He was angry still, the frown on his face as no longer playful. Instead it was the look of a child who had been punished, combined with the fury of an animal that had been caged for far too long. And the earth continued to tremble, and the wind continued to blow. Goku turned and began to walk forwards slowly, a predator watching for the weakest link. Small crakes appeared in the ground under his feat.

Kougaiji took a deep breath before whispering to Dokugokuji (who had released Hakkai's arm some time ago), "I'm going to draw his attention away from the rest of you. When I do I want you to get Lirin and Yaone the hell out of here."

He left no room for argument in his instructions, and one look at his face was enough for Dokugokuji to realize that debating the command would be useless. The prince took another deep breath and subtly detached Lirin from his vest. Goku was watching him now. He counted silently to three, preparing to launch himself forward and force the boy away from the others as soon as his counting ended.

_One_.

Goku smiled, and it was the same smile he gave to Ginji before the god died.

_Two_.

Hakkai caught his eye and Kougaiji knew without having to ask that the human was going to help him, that he was going to fight his friend in order to save Kougaiji's family.

_Three_.

The sound of a gun shot made everyone jump.

Goku's head snapped to the side, his eyes narrowing as they searched for the source of the sound. They fell on three newcomers. Sanzo stepped away from Gojyo and Kyomitsu, his gun held at the ready. Goku's head cocked to the side in contemplation.

"Alright, you damn ape. That's enough. I didn't go all the way to Heaven for you to go crazy and get yourself killed. You're taking this antidote whether you like it or not," the monk growled.

Goku frowned. Even if he no longer understood the words he more then understood the tone. Sanzo didn't care. Unlike Ginji it was more then obvious that the monk knew how dangerous a situation he was in. He genuinely intended to force the antidote down the rampaging boy's throat if it came to that. Sanzo began to walk forward. His gun was still raised, but the trigger seemed to have been all but forgotten even as Goku began to stalk the him.

The boy was watching Sanzo cairfuly. Kougaiji could see that there was some recognition in the golden eyes, but not enough. Goku knew he had seen Sanzo before, but he didn't seem to realize that Sanzo was his friend.

"Stay away from him, Sanzo!" Hakkai yelled. He looked white with fear as he saw Goku's lips pull back into a wild grin. "He's been tearing the chi out of gods, he'll do worse to you!"

Sanzo ignored him entirely. He allowed the hand holding his gun to fall to his side. With an arrogant cock of his head the monk beckoned Goku forward. The boy had never been one to disobey the irritable human, and true to form he leaped forward. Kougaiji tensed, debating internally weather or not he should try and stop Goku before the monk got himself killed.

But he didn't have to.

Before Goku even got within a foot of Sanzo he froze. His whole body tensed as another hideous cry escaped his lips. He fell to his hands and knees, gasping for breath. Tears rolled down his bloody cheeks as his clawed fingers dug into the dirt beneath him. The poison was taking effect once more.

Sanzo walked forward calmly, shaking his head in exasperation. With a muttered curse he knelt down to be at eye level with the boy. Goku looked up at him, hissing in anger and pain. Sanzo reached out and forced his head backwards. There was a struggle for only a moment before another wave of pain hit the boy. Sanzo reached into a pocket hidden within the folds of his robes and pulled out a small vial. It looked to be full of water as far as Kougaiji could tell. The monk used his teeth to pry the cork out of the vial and then cairfuly forced it past Goku's own clenched teeth.

"Why isn't he being hurt the way the gods were?" Yaone whispered from somewhere beside the demon prince. He turned his head to face her, prying his eyes away from the bizarre scene before him.

"I have know idea. Maybe he recognizes Sanzo, or maybe he doesn't have enough energy to do that again" he muttered before turning back.

Sanzo had his hand on Goku's head, fingers spread wide, so that they coved the boy's eyes and the majority of his forehead. Something strange was going on, Kougaiji could feel it. The air was suddenly charged with static electricity and it was making his hair stand on end. There was a flash from somewhere near the two kneeling forms and Kougaiji jumped slightly when a shock of electricity ran threw him.

Sanzo pulled his hand away from Goku. A glint of gold caught the light and the demon prince's attention.

He could feel the grin tugging at his lips.

"That son of a bitch did it," Dokugokuji muttered in awe.

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1) Goku doesn't remember that Lirin is Kou's sister. She has a similar sent to her brother and that is how he knew they were family.

2) This happened in the mangas, when he was fighting with Hazal, so I had it happen here too. It really can happen! The earth just wants Goku to be alright, it is his mommy after all

3) He's using monkey as an insult here, not the same way that Gojyo or Sanzo would use it.

4) Kou is thinking about the time he got his mind screwed with and Lirin was...I don't know, experimented on or something. I'm not really shore what they were doing to her, but it nearly killed her and drove Kou's little family apart.

And the next one is the end!


	12. Chapter 12

Ok guys, this is the end. It's going to close with the same point of view that it opened with, so that Kyomitsu gets to have the last word. I tried to have them all be in character and to wrap up any loose ends that I hadn't up until now. Hopefully this meets your expectations. Thank you for reading this and for giving me such nice reviews! Maybe something will come after this, like another story...

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Mortals, Kyomitsu decided, were not given nearly the credit they should be. That had become shockingly obvious in Heaven, when Sha Gojyo's insistence that Sanzo could take cake of himself and to "get the god damn antidote before the god damn monk shoots you" had proven apt. That advice had turned out to be rather appropriate and much more believable when Sanzo had been located again.

The scared little maid had found Kyomitsu and the former general as they creped through the halls, searching for the monk. She sobbed as she admitted to Kyomitsu that she had let slip that she'd seen them in the hallways to another maid in the presence of Lee Taing. He had been the one to send the guards after them.

Following her rather tearful directions lead them back to the hallway that the separation had occurred in. A little snooping on Sha Gojyo's part had unearthed a single locked doorway covered in quite a few dents. Voices came from beyond it. Whatever guards had been trying to brake down the door with brute force had given up in favor of finding a spare key. Sha Gojyo scoffed a their stupidity as he picked the lock.

Kyomitsu almost wished he left the door closed. The last thing he had ever wanted to do was find Lee Taing twitching and moaning on the floor in agony as Sanzo and Kanzeon Bosatsu looked down on him as if he were a worm. The shock of the whole thing was only seconded by the revelation that Lee Taing had been poisoning Crown Prince Nataku with the same poison he had tried to kill Son Goku with.

He had always known that Lee Taing was a power hungry fool, but he had never thought the man was suicidal. Everyone knew that Kanzeon Bosatsu had taken a personal interest in Crown Prince Nataku, and everyone knew that pissing that particular goddess off was a death sentence.

It seemed her nephew took a similar stand on dealing with the unfortunate souls that touched what was his.

From where he stood now the general could clearly see the monk and the Great Sage. The boy looked terrible, pail, weak and shaky, but oddly happy as he staired up at Genjo Sanzo. Utter adoration shone in his eyes even as they began to close. A small smile tugged at his lips.

"Sanzo. Sanzo, I never told you, I have a present for you," the boy said dreamily. His voice was so raw from screaming and soft from exhaustion that even the god's superior hearing nearly missed the comment.

"You idiot, why the hell are you telling me that now?" Genjo Sanzo asked in exasperation. But in affection as well.

The boy continued to smile as he went limp and fell forward into the arms of his frustrated defender. Knocked off balance by the dead weight, Genjo Sanzo fell unceremoniously onto his back side. For a moment no one moved. Genjo Sanzo stared down at the tousled head of Son Goku, his eyes screaming the relief that his voice would not. The monk's shoulders seemed to slacken, the tension that had been in them from the moment he and Kyomitsu met finally running away. And then Sha Gojyo bursting out into uproarious laughter destroyed any atmosphere there might have been.

Kyomitsu didn't see anything that was particularly funny.

The former general clapped him on the shoulder, shaking his head at the apparent insanity of the world, and then went to join his companions. Cho Hakkai, who for some reason was limping slightly, met him half way and they knelt beside the monk and the boy as one. Their little dragon left the safety of a small bush it had undoubtedly taken refuge in and landed on Cho Hakkai's shoulder. The man leaned his face into the creature's caress even as he brushed the hair away from Son Goku's forehead.

Somehow, Kyomitsu felt as if he were intruding upon sacred ground just by standing near. No one had said as much, in fact Sha Gojyo had even alluded to the fact that he might not hate his replacement (even if he didn't seem to remember he had been replaced) as much as he thought he would. There was just such a… a chemistry surrounding the four of them that he felt as if the mere thought of taking any of them to Heaven and leaving one behind was criminal.

Sizo came to stand before his superior, giving a sharp bow of respect. "Sir, we encountered hostility, lead by Ginji. They were… put down by Son Goku," he said respectfully.

Kyomitsu raised an eyebrow at the sergeant's choice of wording. He would have to have Sizo make a full report when they returned to Heaven. Somehow, he didn't think now was the time or the place.

"Were there any casualties on our side?" he asked instead. There didn't seem to be, but it was always better to ask then it was to assume.

Sano shook his head. "Negative, Sir. Son Goku took the bulk of the fight upon himself and he seems fine," the tall god added, raising an eye brow speculatively back at the boy and his friends.

Kyomitsu shook his head and sighed. "Yes, he does, doesn't he?"

He watched as the demon prince and the two women that were with him joined the group already inspecting Son Goku. The smallest of the three, the girl called Lirin who had been refreshingly disrespectful in regards to the Jade Emperor, practically threw herself on Genjo Sanzo and ruffled his hair as if he were a small child.

"You did it, baldy!" she chirped.

Genjo Sanzo looked torn between hitting her and ignoring the fact that she existed.

"Thank you."

Kyomitsu turned away from the scene before him to find himself face to face with the tall demon that guarded the prince. He tried not to look as incredulous as he felt when he asked, "What?"

The demon grinned, reveling pointed teeth and a pleasant smile. "Thank you. For saving the kid. None of them would have admitted it, but even Kou would have been sad if he died."

Kyomitsu fought the urge to shrug the whole thing away. He hadn't done much to fix things, especially when one considered the fact that he was the reason Lee Taing even thought Son Goku would be competition. "I did nothing. I'm sure, had the situation been reversed, you all would have done the same."

The tall demon nodded. His eyes narrowed ever so slightly before he asked, " Is it true? Are you the one that imprisoned Kou's mother?"

Kyomitsu almost winced. He knew the demon prince had looked familiar. He had met Prince Kougaiji on his first real mission, acting as support and guard for Crown Prince Nataku. The demoness had not been an intended target. The whole thing could have been handled better and it still made Kyomitsu slightly guilty in retrospect.

"Yes, and for what it's worth, I am sorry for that."

The large demon considered him for a long minuet. What ever he was searching for he seemed to have found because he gave a small nod. "Can she be revived?" he asked carefully.

Kyomitsu was silent for a long moment. Sizo glanced between them uncertainly before the general nodded. It would be treason to say anything other then that, even confirming that the imprisonment wasn't permanent was almost crossing the line. The demon understood, apparently, because he grinned again and turned to look over his charge and the others.

Kyomitsu rather liked him.

"They never would have survived in Heaven," someone said simply, right in Kyomitsu's ear.

General, Sargent and demon all jumped in surprise. A sound suspiciously like a snicker escaped Kanzeon Bosatsu's lips as she took a step away from Kyomitsu. Her attendant stood behind her, looking thoroughly harassed and altogether uncomfortable with his mistress being on earth. The Merciful Goddess smirked at the grip the demon had on his sword. She winked at him, which resulted in the demon looking slightly confused.

"Merciful Goddess," Sizo said immediately, dropping to one knee in equal parts respect and fear. The other solders followed suit. Kyomitsu began to kneel was well before the goddess waved her hand dismissively.

"No need to stand on formality here, gentlemen. I ashore you that I wont," she said easily. She then ignored the solders altogether in favor of watching her nephew and those gathered around him and his charge.

"They never would have survived in Heaven," she repeated. "You realize that now too, don't you, General."

Somehow it wasn't really a question. She said it like fact, and Kyomitsu had to accept it as fact as well. All the same his nod was hesitant.

"All that boy ever wanted, from the very beginning, was his sun. All Konzen ever wanted was that boy. Kenren and Tenpu were the same. They were never pulled into the monotony of Heaven. And they just felt too much," the goddess said almost sadly.

"What does that mean?" the demon asked somewhat defensively. Something Kanzeon Bosatsu said had not sat right with him.

Slowly the goddess turned to lock eyes on the demon. Though she was a good foot shorter, Kanzeon Bosatsu still seemed to tower over him and while her eyes were not cold they were not warm either. There was an air of complete seriousness about her now.

"Have you ever heard of a god loving? We are immortal. We don't need to feel things the way you mortals do. You grow utterly attached so quickly. It's part of your beauty and your frailty, you feel so completely because you have such a fleeting time to experience the things around you. But with immortals it's different. We have all the time we could ever want. If we felt that strongly all of our existence we would go mad. Heaven is eternity; nothing is fleeting except our interests."

She turned to look back at Genjo Sanzo, indicating the whole group with a wave of her arm. "It's better that they be mortal, here and now, where they can feel with their whole hearts. They tried that once long ago, in Heaven, and it got them nowhere."

The demon looked slightly startled by this explanation. He took a small step away from the goddess, who smirked, all seriousness forgotten in the face of her amusement. She waved her attendant away when he tried to whisper to her and sauntered away to join her nephew.

"Relax," she called to the poor man. "What's the worst that could happen?"

Her attendant gave a long suffering moan. "The list is endless when you're involved," he muttered.

Kyomitsu smirked. He agreed with the man completely, and in the interest of peace for all concerned he was willing to be the one that dragged the goddess away. In as polite and respectful a way as he could.

"So, I thought you would like to know that Lee Taing is going to wish he had never heard of you by the end of the night," she said pleasantly when she drew level with her nephew.

Genjo Sanzo was still sitting on the ground, with Goku in his lap. He somehow managed to turn a normally intimate jester into something only marginally bearable.

"Good, because if I ever see that guy again I really will kill him," the monk said simply, but with utter confidence.

"Why are there so many gods showing up? Is this a party of something?" Lirin whispered loudly. Her brother shrugged helplessly.

Dokugokuji gave Kyomitsu a wink before he clapped a hand down on the demon prince's shoulder. A flicker of red eyes was all it took for the two to exchange some silent conversation. The prince nodded in a distracted manner before turning back to the others. Kyomitsu watched as a smile graced the demon's lips for the first time. It was directed at Son Goku, but somehow everyone else seemed included in the look.

"Keep an eye on him, Sanzo. I expect a decent fight the next time we see you," Kougaiji informed him easily.

Genjo Sanzo rolled his eyes and gave a snort. But his grip on Son Goku grew slightly more secure. Kyomitsu noted the action and tried not to find the whole thing rather anticlimactic. After all, everyone present seemed to have expected this outcome all along. Was he the only one that feared for the boy's life and _didn't _think it would make a difference?

Mortals really did have an amazing capability for faith.

The demons in their midst all gave polite goodbyes before following their prince as he turned and walked away. Lirin hung back for just a moment to shout, "Next time, I'm taking the sutra, Baldy!" before rushing to catch up with her brother.

Kanzeon Bosatsu actually laughed at the look of raw annoyance on her nephew's face. "You four have a mission to be getting back to, don't you?" the goddess asked pleasantly.

Sha Gojyo grinned wolfishly. "Yeah, maybe."

Cho Hakkai nodded with equal pleasantness. "That does seem to be the theme."

Genjo Sanzo rolled his eyes. "When this stupid monkey wakes up we're going west."

Son Goku snored contentedly in the monk's arms.

* * *

And there you have it. Goku is alive and well, Sanzo is still his emotionally constipated self that we all love, Gojyo is crazy in a good way, and Hakkai got his dragon back. I hope you all liked Kyomitsu, because I loved writing him. And I think any real person would feel the way he did at the end of the story, like tampering with our boys would be sacrileges. I liked Kanzeon , she had the perfect insight to the boys. I really do think that the reason things went so badly for them was because they loved like mortals, and not like gods. But that's just my interpretation of it Love you all, and thank you for reading! 


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